Bhateri, age 65, harvests a mustard crop. Bhateri is an agricultural labourer from Lagarpur village in Haryana. She and other labourers are particularly vulnerable to the development of SEZs. Unlike land-owning farmers, she will receive no compensation for the acquisition of land and it is almost certain that she will not be offered employment in the high-tech industrial facilities proposed in SEZs. ..Reliance Industries (RIL), India's largest private company, has been granted a license to acquire and develop 25,000 acres of land as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Jhajjar district in the state of Haryana. This land borders Delhi and is at present almost exclusively agricultural. The land has huge potential value as it borders Delhi and will be serviced by the proposed Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway. At present RIL are offering farmers INR2.2 million (&pound;27,000) per acre. Many of Jhajjar's farmers are refusing to sell and have joined a national struggle to resist the development of SEZs. ..India's Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are areas of land owned by private companies which are deemed to be foreign territory for the purpose of trade, duties and tariffs. SEZs have been declared &quot;public utilities&quot; making collective bargaining and strikes illegal. SEZs are not subject to India's Environment Protection Act. It is questionable whether SEZs are consistent with the Indian constitution. The Indian finance ministry is concerned that SEZs will distort land, capital and labour costs. SEZ exemption from tax and duties will result in lost revenue for India...The law allowing for the establishment of SEZs in India came into effect in February 2006. The law was not debated in parliament. According to the Citizen's Research Collective, a total of 760 SEZs have been approved in 20 states across India. At present most of the land designated for the development of SEZs is agricultural. The Government of India says it has promoted the scheme to encourage exports, create jobs and rai
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