Paper short abstract:

The enactment of special economic zones (SEZs) Act of India, 2005 is an outcome of the economic reforms initiated by the Government of India (GOI) in the light of globalisation. The paper focuses on the displacement of marginalised communities of India due to SEZs in Andhra Pradesh.

Paper long abstract:

In 2005, the GoI enacted SEZs Act and its rules were notified in 2006. The policy was aimed at giving big push to investment, employment and exports. For this purpose, the GoI has approved more than 586 SEZs so far with the allotment lands ranging from 10 to 5,000 hectares in size. After seven years, the experiences of SEZs clearly reflect that they never substantially benefited the marginalised communities, who have been displaced from their meager resources of livelihood. The alienated vulnerable communities in this process are mostly the indigenous people, i.e. tribals, dalits and other marginal farmers. Most of the identified and acquired lands under SEZs are the assessed waste and dry (AWD) lands, which have been distributed / assigned to the poor and other landless sections.

The state is creating the impression that the SEZs are formed primarily for the purpose of public and in name of national interest. However, in practice it appears to facilitate the interests of the powerful industrial houses / lobbies and multi-national companies (MNCs) for their own advantages at the cost of the poor and other vulnerable communities. Development agenda of Indian state, instead of striving for inclusive development model for the advantage of all the deprived sections, clearly reflecting the neo-feudal attitude in the wake of globalisation.

In this backdrop, the paper tries to evaluate the seven years of experience in the formation and promotion of SEZs in India with special reference to Andhra Pradesh. And explains how the marginalised sections of Indian society, especially the tribals, dalits and other poor farmers have been forced by the appropriate governments to give up their valuable sources of livelihoods without providing any alternative / comprehensive / remunerative economic resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) package by ignoring the aspirations of the SEZs affected people (SAPs) . It also puts forward some of the suggestions / recommendations on SEZ policy and practice for the equitable benefit of all marginalised sections of India in the broader perceptive of inclusive growth as envisaged and specified by the planners in the 11th five year plan document.