By IANS,
Chandigarh : Haryana’s main opposition Indian National Lok Dal Thursday demanded disallowing a third extension to the special economic zone (SEZ) proposed by Reliance Industries in Gurgaon and sought that all Reliance-owned land in the state be taken back.
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries has asked for a two-year extension to launch its $5-billion, 12,000-acre SEZ in Gurgaon.
In a statement, party secretary general and Rajya Sabha member Ajay Singh Chautala said Reliance had been given two extensions already but had failed to utilise the opportunity.
“The law of the land is the same for all. The Reliance SEZ land should be resumed and given back to the rightful farm owners as Reliance has exhausted two opportunities provided to it to complete the process,” Chautala said.
“No real work except barbed wire fencing has taken place and Reliance has even terminated the services of the people hired for the project,” he said.
“Reliance has failed to purchase even half of the land in the stipulated time period, what to speak of its earlier claims of Rs.1 lakh crore investment and creation of 10 lakh direct and indirect jobs for the state youth.”
Reliance had floated a company named Reliance Ventures and signed a pact with the state government’s Haryana Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corp in June 2006 for forming a joint venture called Reliance Haryana Special Economic Zone.
This is the third extension sought by the group and is expected to be considered at the next meeting of the board of approvals on special economic zones, chaired by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar at a meeting scheduled Aug 11, officials said.
“Reliance has sought two years for the completion of the process. The project will come up. The delay has been due to the economic meltdown,” Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had told IANS here.
“We understand the problem is due to the economic meltdown. This will be overcome in some time,” the chief minister added, virtually recommending the grant of extension to the central government’s commerce and industry ministry.
But Chautala accused the Hooda government of acting like a property broker for the land mafia and big business houses and allowing acquisition of fertile farm land from villagers.
Arguing that the Hooda government had not come up with a white paper on the SEZ fiasco, he added: “Many of the SEZs are non-existent and non-traceable according to the state’s industry department. No construction except barbed wires fencing has been done in the SEZs.”