Industry representatives in Mangalore, who received the news of de-notification of lands to be acquired for the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ), said that they were hopeful of a satisfactory resolution to the issue.
A representative of the real estate industry in Mangalore saw it as blocking the way to development in Mangalore.
Plan of action
The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), a partner in the MSEZ Limited, will take up the issue with the Government of Karnataka as it is confident that the issue can be “comprehensively addressed to satisfy all stakeholders”. It will publicise its plan of action regarding the denotification on Thursday evening, said its president G.G. Mohandas Prabhu.
On Wednesday evening, Mr. Prabhu said that the denotification order meant “the efforts of all these years will go waste”. With 2,000 acres cut away, not many units can come up…it will be a small SEZ.”
‘An issue'
G. Giridhar Prabhu, former president of KCCI said that the denotification was not a problem but an issue that could be resolved.
“Denotification may be good news for those fighting for their land but not for many who were happy that they had land for denotification for the second phase,” he said.
Denotification is a result of public pressure and various aspects of land acquisition and, per se, does not affect project quality.
He said that farmers' rehabilitation was not a problem but an economic issue that required settlement. “If a farmer has 3 acres of a farm within the SEZ area, give him 6 acres of farmland 10 km away.”
The multi-purpose MSEZ (over 1,000 hectares), which could be a “potent economic engine” could generate jobs for over 25,000 people, absorbing the youth of the district and preventing their migration. “That much employment is lost,” he said.
Why stop development?
K.C. Naik, president, Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (CREDAI)-Mangalore, said that the step taken by the Government is incorrect and not good for Mangalore. “Why stop infrastructure development in Mangalore? People around are not interested in the development of Mangalore ,” he said.
