WHAT DEVELOPMENT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? WHO'S DEVELOPMENT?

AS U READ THIS, PLEASE ASK TWO QUESTIONS- WHO REAPS THE BENEFITS AND WHO PAYS THE PRICE.
BY PRICE, I DONT MEAN MONEY. I MEAN, WHO IS GOING TO GIVE UP THEIR LAND, LIVELIHOODS, CULTURE. YES, THE VILLAGERS WILL GET COMPENSATION FROM THE GOVT. BUT HOW LONG WILL THAT LAST THEM? BY PRICEE, I MEAN, WHO IS GOING TO FACE PROBLEMS OF AIR AND WATER POLLUTION, WATER SHORTAGE, HEALTH PROBLEMS? WHO IS GOING TO PAY THE PRICE FOR THESE PROBLEMS?

BY BENEFITS I MEAN MONEY, BECAUSE THE PCPIR WILL GENERATE HUGE REVENUE. AGAIN, ASK- WHO IS GOING TO GET THESE PROFITS?

As of today, the central govt has approved of the Petroleum Chemical Petrochemical Investment Region being set up in Mangalore. The PCPIR will cover an area of 300 sq km (Mangalore covers an area of 132 sq km www.mangalorecity.gov.in) and four taluks BANTWAL, KARKALA, MANGALORE, UDUPI. The project will cost Rs 35,000 crore.

the pcpir is planned in three phases
1. phase I-msez 2008-14
2. phase II- 2015-20 pertochemical, and chemical cluster and pharma and fertiliser sectors
3. phase III- industries for fine chemicalssynthetic textiles, r & d hub etc.

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called MSEZ Ltd has been set up for developing this SEZ. ONGC, which owns Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), is the anchor co-promoter of this SEZ. The other equity holders of the SPV are the Govt Of Karnataka, Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI 2% stake) and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd. (IL&FS) with 49% stake.

The PCPIR project is in violation of several laws not to mention completely devoid of ethics in several aspects.
1. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute has not conducted a thorough EIA study of the PCPIR project. It has failed to provide the figures regarding the release of hydrocarbons like Benzene, Butadiene, Toluene etc. Tanks storing Pyrolysis Gasoline pose a great risk as they contain about 20- 56 % Benzene. Fugitive emissions from the petrochemical complex will release about 905 kg of Pyrolysis Gasoline, which means that about 180-500 kg of Benzene would be released into the atmosphere everyday. Benzene and Butadiene are extremely carcinogenic substances, which expose high health risks to the people of the four affected taluks (Bantwal, Karkala, Mangalore, and Udupi).

2. Apart from the discharge of carcinogenic substances into the atmosphere, the PCPIR will release several pollutants into the atmosphere, which will have a direct impact on the climate in this region. It will contribute to the already rising temperature, thus contributing to global warming. The effects of global warming have been felt directly this summer by way of the unseasonable rainfall that occurred towards the end of March. This unseasonable rain has caused damage to several crops such as arecanut and coffee.

Inflation is at about 8 % today. India has 836 million people who cannot afford food today. This PCPIR will uproot more farmers who produce the food that we eat. If the PCPIR comes up, this food will be irreplaceably lost. The PCPIR will affect every resident of Mangalore and the surrounding taluks directly and indirectly.

3. According to the final pre-feasibility report, PCPIR will discharge 4 tonnes of hazardous waste and 55 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day. It also admits that Mangalore at present does not have a facility for common hazardous waste disposal. MSEZ will release 76 mld of effluent and 13 mld of sewage. The existing industries do not treat the waste before it is disposed.

4. The SEZ will require 641 million litres per day (mld), which it proposes to obtain from Gurpur and Mulky rivers. It also recommends that the Tumbe dam be upgraded. This will lead to salinity of estuaries due to over usage of water. Mangalore city requires a supply of 102 mld. Karkala, Mangalore, and Udupi face water shortage during the summer.

5. The KIADB has on behalf of MSEZL notified the villagers of four villages- Permude, Kuthethoor, Thenka Yekkaru, and Delanthabettu; when the rules state that the government (here, KIADB) cannot step in to acquire land unless it is dry non-agricultural land. Land for the SEZ must be acquired by the company on its own by buying the land from the residents at commercial rates.

The land of the above mentioned villages is fertile agricultural land, and its residents are mostly farmers, farm labourers and daily wage earners. They also include people of Kudubi tribes and Adi Dravida tribals, whose interests need to be protected. All these people earn their livelihood in agriculture and horticulture. They are equipped with no other skill that can enable them to earn their living. The R & R packages offered by MSEZL are grossly inadequate, and cannot sustain them for long, as is evident from the case of MRPL. Agricultural output from these villages will also cease to exist, putting to risk the food security of five lakh people driving up prices of fresh vegetables in and around Mangalore (Deccan Herald July 22, 2007)

6. The SEZ Rules and the Income Tax Act provide several tax breaks to the SEZs, including exemption from State Sales Tax, Octroi, Mandi Tax, Turnover tax, duty, cess, levied on supply of goods from Domestic Tariff Area to SEZ units; full exemption in electricity duty and tax on sale of electricity for self-generated and purchased power.

The government has a direct monetary stake in the PCPIR (MRPL 26% stake, IL&FS with 49% stake). Therefore, the GOVERNMENT DIRECTLY STANDS TO BENEFIT FROM THE PCPIR. However, ALL the people who live here will be affected by the PCPIR which is against the interests of the people and the region. Ultimately it is us ordinary people who will lose out- lose out on our health, our land, our water, our electricity, and livelihoods. The government is pursuing a policy of creating problems and then finding solutions to those problems. But let’s ask ourselves: why create the problems in the first place.

The government has rarely come to the aid of the common people. The villagers displaced by MRPL have been waiting for the government to help them for the last 12 years, and help has still not arrived. WE’LL BE NEXT.
The state of Goa has successfully opposed the SEZ s proposed there. PLEASE, SPEAK UP AGAINST INJUSTICE AND WRONG DOING.
OPPOSE A PROJECT THAT IS AGAINST THE INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE OF MANGALORE AND DAKSHINA KANNADA.

PLEASE DO REMEMBER THAT SUCH A MASSIVE PROJECT THAT INVOLVES DIVERTING SO MUCH AGRICULTURAL LAND TO INDUSTRY WILL AFFECT AGRICULTURE, CLIMATE, FOOD SECURITY, HEALTH, WATER, RAINFALL, AND GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE.



ALL OVER INDIA, MASSIVE PROJECTS LIKE THESE ARE BEING PROPOSED AND APPROVED BY THE GOVT
1. ARUNACHAL PRADESH- 104 DAMS PROPOSED FOR HYDEL POWER
2. INDISCRIMINATE MINING THE STATES OF JHARKHAND, CHHATISGARH, ORISSA, ANDHRA, BY TAKING AWAY THE HOMES OF FEOPLE
3. THE NARMADA VALLEY PROJECT WHICH MADE ABOUT 85,000 FAMILIES HOMELESS

MANGALORE IS NOW BEING ADDED TO THIS LONG LIST.
CAN WE NOT HAVE DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT MAKING SO MANY PEOPLE HOMELESS. DOES DEVELOPMENT MEAN TAKING ONE PERSON'S HOME AWAY SO THAT ANOTHER CAN HAVE ELECTRICITY OR WATER. IS IT RIGHT TO DO THAT?
THERE ARE ABOUT 836 MILLION INDIANS WHO EARN LESS THAN 20 RUPEES PER DAY. IF WE GO AHEAD WITH THIS PCPIR, WE WILL ADD TO THAT NUMBER. THIS PCPIR WILL MAKE PPLE FROM 70 VILLAGES HOMELESS.
A RECENT ISSUE OF FRONTLINE CARRIED AN ARTICLE ON WOMEN'S RESERVATION BILL. IN THE PANCHAYAT ELECTIONS WOMEN HAVE 33% RESERVATION. ALMOST EVERY PANCHAYAT THAT HAD A WOMAN SARPANCH SAW IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH, EDUCATION, ROADS; REDUCED WATER PROBLEMS. THESE WOMEN HAVE MADE LIVES BETTER FOR THEIR WOMEN, MEN, AND CHILDREN OF THEIR VILLAGES. LOOK WHAT WE ARE DOING TO THE PEOPLE OF OUR VILLAGES.

NOW LETS ASK THE QUESTION: WHAT IS DEVELOPMENT?

(THERE ARE MANY HIGHLY RESPECTED JOURNALS THAT TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS- ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY, FRONTLINE, DOWN TO EARTH. )