Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

The anti-Special Economic Zone campaign resulted in the cancellation of the state’s SEZ policy and 15 approved SEZs by the state government. Documents accessed by local residents through the Right to Information revealed that land for seven SEZs had been allotted to developers before the state’s SEZ policy was even notified. There were several irregularities in the allotment process. Some of the developers were also prominent realty firms and the land allotments were considered land and resource grabs for private real estate and industry at the expense of local livelihoods, environment and identity. The state-wide agitation snowballed successfully on the heels of the RP agitation. As five private developers took the government's cancellation of allotments to court, the High Court of Bombay at Goa upheld the state government’s decision to cancel the SEZs. The matter is currently before the Supreme Court of India, although there are occasional reports that the state government is considering an out of court settlement.