Abolish the SEZ Act and the Land Acquisition Act!

Enact a new law to protect land from being seized for capitalist profiteering!

After 73 days the UPA Government headed by Manmohan Singh has lifted the ‘freeze’ on Special Economic Zones, or SEZs. The policy had been put on temporary hold following massive protests against the seizure of agricultural land by corporate interests. Now it is being allowed to be implemented with some minor modifications, namely: (i) a cap has been fixed on the total amount of land for an SEZ (5000 hectares for multi-product SEZs), (ii) minimum proportion of land to be used for production of the specified commodities will be 50% for all SEZs, rather than 35% for some, and (iii) the State Governments are advised to avoid using the Land Acquisition Act to seize agricultural land, but rather leave it to the ‘market forces’. With these modifications, the freeze has been lifted, paving the way for 53 SEZs to be notified immediately. This will lead to the transfer of hundreds of thousands of hectares from the hands of peasants and working families into the hands of big capitalist corporations.

People’s Voice condemns this move of the UPA Government, which is aimed at enabling the rapid transfer of land from peasants to big capitalists. This is a dangerous trend, which further threatens the livelihood of the tillers, as well as food security, availability of housing and shelter, as well as protection of the natural environment.

The lifting of the freeze deserves to be condemned because it represents the refusal of the Government of India to abolish the SEZ Act, as well as a refusal to abolish the colonial Land Acquisition Act – both popular demands that have been raised by communists and others who defend human rights and democratic rights.

The fact that the colonial Land Acquisition Act still remains in tact means that peasants have no effective protection from their land being seized by State governments, which are not legally bound to do what the Central Government recommends regarding agricultural land, which is a state subject.

The modifications do not change the basic character of the SEZ Act, as a tool of the big capitalists to seize any land they choose, by one method or another, to set up zones of special privileges for themselves, at the expense of the rest of society.

Allocation of land for different socially necessary functions, with appropriate balance between agricultural use, industrial use, commercial use, domestic use, parks and public areas, etc., is something that has to be planned and managed to harmonise different interests with each other and with the general interests of society. The people need to be the ones who make such decisions that affect their lives. To advocate that land use be left in the hands of ‘market forces’, as the UPA Government headed by Manmohan Singh is doing, means to act in the narrow interest of the big monopoly capitalists. It means to serve those who want to grab prime land for reaping maximum profits for themselves, with utter disregard for every other interest.

Workers, peasants, and all working people in our country must demand not only that the anti-people SEZ Act and the colonial Land Acquisition Act must both be abolished. We must also demand that a new law be enacted and enforcing mechanisms established, to prevent land from being bought by capitalist corporations, through any route.

Land is not a commodity to be bought and sold by private parties as they like. It is a vital natural resource that belongs to nations and peoples. It needs to be secure in the hands of those who till it, and over time, brought under collective and social ownership and control. It cannot be left to be monopolized by self-serving private corporate interests.