Reliance may pull out of Raigad SEZ project

Kiran TareMukesh Ambani’s Reliance has sacked 1,200 of the 1,600 employees from its proposed Special Economic Zones

(SEZ) in Raigad district. It, anti-SEZ activists say, signals that Reliance is winding up the project.

This is the second major step the company has taken in the past 15 days. Earlier, they withdrew a petition from the Supreme Court seeking an extension of the deadline for land acquisition. “Reliance has sacked the employees because the company does not want to spend anymore on the project,” an activist said.

Vaishali Patil, a leader of the anti-SEZ movement in Raigad district, confirmed the development. “But we are cautious,” she said. “We will oppose any attempt to bring back the SEZ in any form.”

The government had asked Reliance to acquire 70% of the land required for the SEZ. It was decided that the government would acquire the remaining 30%.

The company, however, managed to acquire only 13% of the land within the given deadline. The SEZ Board of Approval extended the deadline twice in past two years. But the company failed to achieve the target because of strong opposition from farmers.

“According to the law, any company willing to set up special economic zones cannot be given a third extension for land acquisition,” Patil said. “The company can get another extension only if the state government enacts a special law.”

Chief minister Ashok Chavan has said that the government will introduce a bill to revive the SEZ.

Reliance filed a petition in the Supreme Court in June last year, seeking an extension. But they withdrew the petition on December 7.

Sunil Dighe, a lawyer from Uran, claimed that Reliance withdrew its petition because he had challenged the SEZ law in the Supreme Court. “SEZs will have the right on ports and creeks. It will be dangerous for the country’s security,” Dighe said.

A Reliance spokesperson refused to comment on the matter. The Centre, in 2006, had approved Reliance’s SEZ over 10,000 hectare — the biggest in the country — in 45 villages in Pen, Uran, and Panvel tehsils of Raigad district.

Since then local farmers have been opposing the project. The land, according to them, is fertile and produces half of the rice produced in the state.