The way I see this issue simply is if it is right on the part of the government to allot agricultural land to SEZ's.
And, IMO, it is not. There is plenty of arid and semi-arid land in India that can be used by the various industry sectors for development purposes.
Why do they have to target only farmland? I do not buy the argument that the SEZ's have to be close in proximity to major cities/towns in order to be successful. People, especially Indians, have the drive and determination to follow a good opportunity even all the way to the moon!!
The ever increasing encroaching of agricultural land is already having a negative impact on the daily lives of the common man. Anyone who has gone to their local veggie mart to get some onions and tomatoes know what I am talking about.
And Ms. Mahajan has hit the bulls eye on the need to reduce our dependency on foreign nations for such a basic amenity as grains!! This is single handedly the biggest bargaining chip a country has....the percentage of land under agricultural cultivation.
I hope the government realizes this and makes the appropriate changes to the SEZ policy. SEZ's are definitely the right way to go ahead, but as with everything and anything, the ripple effect that it might cause must be carefully analyzed.
