MSEZ Pvt Ltd, which is executing the project that will cover 45 villages in Raigad district, had declared its R&R package in February 2007. The company had announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh per hectare for land under paddy cultivation and Rs12.5 lakh per hectare for varkas or unproductive land.
The multi-product SEZ has received in-principle approval from the Union government. Originally promoted by Gujarat Positra Port Infrastructural Ltd, the zone saw Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and close associate Anand Jain pick up a stake in it.
In April 2007, an empowered group of ministers decided that no SEZ can exceed 5,000 hectares in size. In effect, under current norms, the Mumbai SEZ cannot exceed 5,000 hectares.
MSEZ has offered to return 12.5 per cent fully-developed land to associations, cooperatives or companies formed by project-affected persons (PAPs). Each PAP's share will be linked to the land sold to the SEZ developer. The company had offered cash compensation to those who did not want a share of the PAP land.
It had also offered vocational training to one person from each PAP family and landless labourers and small artisans, who do not have any land of their own. In addition, the landless were promised a subsistence allowance for two years.
Last week, the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority chaired by the state's minister for cooperation and rehabilitation Patangrao Kadam cleared the MSEZ package. State's rehabilitation and aid secretary Ramesh Kumar confirmed the development.
Sources said the Raigad District Collector has convened a meeting of sarpanchs and other elected representatives from the 45 affected villages to officially convey the state government's decision.
When contacted, an MSEZ spokesperson said, "We welcome the state government's decision and will implement the R&R package both in letter and spirit." He, however, refused to comment on the amount of land acquired by the company.
Vaishali Patil, convenor of the Anti Mumbai SEZ Action Committee, said, "Villagers from all the 45 villages have decided to refuse the package as we are opposed to SEZ itself. We had decided to go to the meeting called by the district collector armed with a resolution passed by the gram panchyats but we were informed that the meeting has been postponed indefinitely."
A state industry ministry source said that the developers had been able to buy around 2,500 hectares directly from the farmers, of which 1,000 hectares is contiguous land enough to get the formal approval from the Board of Approvals (BoA) for multi-product SEZ.
Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries had planned two SEZs spread over 10,000 hectares. While one of them was planned near Mumbai another project is lined up in Jhajjar (Haryana) but both ran into trouble on land acquisition.
