Dec 4, 2006, 15:00 GMT
New Delhi, Dec 4 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday issued notice to Reliance Industries and three state governments questioning the setting up of special economic zones (SEZs) by acquiring agricultural land, including fertile farmland.
Apart from Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, A bench of judges K.G. Balakrishnan and D.K. Jain also issued notice to the centre on a public suit by MP Kuldeep Bishnoi urging the court to quash all the acquisitions that had already taken place and direct that the land be returned to the respective farmers.
The petition also sought a direction to declare as unconstitutional the law enacted by the centre and the legislation passed by the Haryana government to facilitate the setting up of SEZs.
The government's SEZ policy seeks to make India a hub for global exports. It is a part of the government's economic liberalisation programme and offers entrepreneurs liberal tax incentives to set up world-class units in these special zones to service international markets.
Assailing this policy, the petitioner said developers were being offered attractive incentives if the units were developed in backward areas of the country. Pursuant to the policy, several leading industrialists, including Reliance, had started acquiring thousands of acres of agricultural land, particularly in Haryana, to set up their export units.
The petitioner alleged that land of farmers, labourers and other citizens in the villages was being forcibly acquired. He cited the acquisition of 25,000 acres of agricultural land by the Haryana government for Reliance to set up a SEZ.
© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service
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