Mumbai SEZ promoters oppose defacto referendum

September 19, 2008	(Be the first to rate this story!)  Loading ...
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Promoters of the Mumbai Special Economic Zone (SEZ), including Reliance India Limited, have filed a petition in the Bombay High Court opposing the Government’s decision to hold a defacto referendum on the project.

The Mumbai SEZ is slated to come up in the neighbouring Raigad District. The Raigad District Collector had last month issued a notice asking the landowners in the 22 affected villages to record their statements regarding their consent for the land acquisition. About 4,000 landowners in 22 villages near Mumbai will decide the fate of Reliance groups proposed Mumbai Special Economic Zone (MSEZ) through a referendum which will be held on September 21 to ask villagers whether they wish to part with their land for the 5,000-acre project.

Despite the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance offering relief packages, the 22 villages in Pen want to continue farming rice. They say the near-complete Rs 360-crore Hetavane dam will soon solve their irrigation problems. Further, the villagers say the Rs 10 lakh per acre offered by Reliance is lower than the market rate which is Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh per acre.

News Published Under:   Special Economic Zones |

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