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Some
very vocal protesters are against Mukesh Ambani's ambitious
plans to set up a 25,000-acre SEZ in Navi Mumbai, reports
CNBC-TV18.
Over 30,000 villagers from over 40 villages are here to
protest against reliance's Navi Mumbai SEZ, which they
claim will displace them and deprive them of their land
and livelihood. And what's encouraging them is the demand
from Left leaders that Mukesh Ambani's SEZ plans be scrapped.
"Till
the time SEZ rules are not changed, this SEZ should be
scrapped," said Sitaram Yechury, Politburo Member,
CPI (M).
Farmers
say while the prevailing market rate for land is over
Rs25 lakh an acre, the state government is offering them
only Rs2 lakh. But more important, they are emotionally
attached to their land. "We can't give our village
to Mukesh Ambani. We have spent our entire life here,"
is a common refrain.
The
Left claims the zones will benefit only real estate developers
and legalise speculation in real estate.
"Neither
industrialists nor farmers are going to benefit, it is
straightforward land developers and land mafia at work,"
said Yechury.
The
next few months will show how effective these protests
will be. And the fate of Mukesh Ambani's grandiose SEZ
plans.
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