SEZ and SIR in Gujarat: Land for Industrialists

Shashikant Kumar, Green Eminent

In contrast to the ‘land for tillers’ slogan in Gujarat during 1970s, the present 21 st century is

poised to be marked in Gujarat as ‘Land for Industrialists’. The Government of Gujarat assisted

creation and promotion of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and Special Investment Regions (SIR)

is an additional vehicle for facilitating distribution of land to industries. The promise of attracting

Foreign Direct Investment, creating employment and exports of the goods in order to generate

income to the state, by May 2010 about 60 SEZ (10 ha to 1000 ha) and 13 Special Investment

Regions (minimum 100 Sq.km) has been under various stages of implementation in state (See

Map).

The increased utilization of land for the industrial purpose has never been same in last 40 years

of history of the state which ranks third in industrial production in country. The unemployment

level between 2-5 percent of the total workforce available (2010 estimate) monthly to daily

variation. The government of Gujarat estimates an investment of above 14-20 lakh crores in the

industrial sector in coming 10 years (2020). The plan period target growth targeted to grow from

10.5 percent in tenth plan to 11.5 percent in eleventh plan period.

Towards 21st Century Industrial Gujarat: A New Approach

Though Gujarat had been front runner in the industrial development in the country, its policy

makers have never been satisfied with its share in State Domestic Product (GSDP). According to

NSS 64th round report (2007-08) the table on Distribution of persons (per 1000) by broad usual

activity (principal + subsidiary) status for each State/ U.T states Unemployment at 5 per 1000

persons in Gujarat against the national average of 9 per 1000 persons. This is one of the least un-

employment ratios among the states of India.1

1Reference: NSSO, (2009), NSS Report No. 531: Employment and Unemployment Situation in India: July, 2007-June, 2008

The state has shifted its industrial policy from cluster and industrial estates (GIDC) based indus-

tries to SEZ during 2002-2004 and now shifted towards Industrial Regions2 and Special Invest-

ment Regions3 expanding the industrial influence areas 200-400 Sq.kms each. This shift is sup-

porting the states vision to become largest business hub in Asia and Global investment destina-

tion (Industrial Policy -2009). The state Vibrant Gujarat summits from 2004 to 2011 (5 sum-

mits) have successfully attracted industries to commit investments in various industrial sectors.

The special Economic Zones in the state is result of erstwhile industrial policy shift post 2002

(SEZ related policy) and later SEZ Act (2004) GoI. These acts and provisions allowed to attract

the investment by facilitating the industries to invest in the development of industrial township

encompassing statutory powers. This over rules the powers of local bodies and government to in-

terfere in day to day working inside the special economic zones.

The concept of special investment regions are fuelled by on going Dedicated Freight Corridors

(DFC) which encompasses 150 km on either of side as industrial corridors, namely the Delhi-

Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). The state government is providing port connectivity and

necessary infrastructure to boost the demand of industrial investment in the state.

SEZ in Gujarat

Gujarat like other states in the country is now enabling SEZ to be created on demand not based

on central, state and regional (district) planning requirements but on the demands of the private

capital. About 60 SEZ under various stages of implementation in state is formulated by Gujarat

SEZ Act 2004 and subsequent amendments in 2007. The land for these SEZs are either acquired

or purchased by public and private enterprises without any resettlement and rehabilitation pack-

age/policy. The Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) is utilized to acquire the

land from the farmers and facilitate the setting of SEZ for the private capital.

2 Industrial Regions- Industrial Nodes identified for the large scale industrial development by state or national organizations.3 Special Investment Regions – Formulated under the Special Investment Region Act, 2009

Though state has also claimed less amount of agricultural lands for the SEZ it has successfully

diverted the common or gauchar land (often referred as waste land) from listed properties in land

banks to those industries promising high investment in the SEZs. At present Gujarat has been

able to attract investment to the tune of 2.63 Lakh crores promising employment of 20 lakh per-

sons and acquired nearly 32,000 ha of land.4

It is also important to note that state is going to attract huge workforce in Gujarat given its 1.6

crores total workforce available and 50 percent engaged in gainful employment in the primary

sector (cultivators and agricultural labourers) and 20 percent as marginal workers in rural Gu-

jarat. The human resource demand for the industries can only be met by large influx of migrant

population to existing urban centres as well as proposed SEZ areas. In absence of any impact as-

sessment of the operational SEZs it is difficult to assume the socio-economic impact of SEZ.

Recent SEZ data available5 from the documents up to December2010, it can be tabulated that

Gujarat has 3 functional, 13 notified & operational, 29 notified, 45 formal approval and 13 In

principle approval. The state would have 103 special economic zones in coming future under

various sectors each acquiring land ranging from 10 hectare to 6000 hectares in various districts.

Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridors (DMIC)

DMIC is influence zone along the proposed Western Dedicated Frieght Corridors (DFC) from

Delhi to Mumbai by joint venture partnership Government of India and Japanese trade organisa-

tion (JETRO). The 38 percent DMIC falls within the Gujarat state which is targeted for the new

industrial development in the state (See Map).

4 Refer MoCI, Data Released on Web, New Delhi as on 31/05/20105 Refer: www.sezindia.nic.in/asez-sez-granted-under2005.asp for PDF download and latest information

Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC)

Western Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) would connect Delhi to Mumbai (1483 Kms) cover-

ing four states in Western India. The DFC covers 588 km approximately 40 percent of its total

length. The DFC is expect to impact about 60 percent of the total area of Gujarat affecting 18 out

of 26 district in the state. About 74 percent of the population (37.3 million) would be affected by

the massive industrialization along the 150 km either side of Western DFC as its influence

zone .This zone comprises of 15.7 million working population of the state. The million plus cit -

ies along the corridors are Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat and 0.5 to 1.0 million population cit-

ies in the influence zone is Bhavnagar. The state has proposed to develop industrial regions, Spe-

cial Investment Region and port connectivity to Western DFC.

Special Investment Region (SIR) in Gujarat

The State Government promulgated a legal framework – The Gujarat Special Investment Region

Act, 2009. The State Government has plans to create large size investment Regions and Indus-

trial Areas in the State of Gujarat; and to specially enable their development as global hubs if

economic activity supported by infrastructure, civic amenities, centres of excellence and pro-ac-

tive policy framework; and to set up an organizational structure with that purpose.

The SIR Act has provision for the development of such economic hub(s) with global standards.

An Investment Region will be developed in an area of more than 100 sq. kms (10000 ha) and an

Industrial area will be developed in an area of more than 50 sq. kms (5000 ha). The Ordinance

provides for establishment of a four tier administrative mechanism for establishment, operation,

regulation and management of the SIRs. The structure will comprise of an Apex Authority, a Re-

gional Development Authority (RDA) for each region, a Project Development Agency and

project specific SPVs. Government has already approved formation of such a project develop-

ment company in the name of “Gujarat Industrial Corridor Company” (GICC).

The State has identified potential locations for development of Industrial Regions or Special In-

vestment Regions (SIR), among work on SIR like Dholera, Pipav, PCPIR (Dahej) etc have al-

ready commenced by the state government. The Industrial Extension Bureau (INDEXb) docu-

ment6 about the SIR lists 13 prospective SIRs and its land use plan to attract industrial invest-6 INDEXb (2010), Special Investment Regions: Sector Profile, Vibrant Gujarat 2011, GoG.

ment covering total area of 4600 Sq. km (4,60,000 hectares) in state. These sites are estimated to

acquire 3731 Sq.km of land under for SIR governed by the Regional Development Authority

(RDA) as per the provision of the SIR Act, 2009. This includes an island SIR in Bharuch district,

Aliyabet covering 163 Sq.km area primarily for aquaculture, film industry and recreation support

to nearby PCPIR Dahej Special Investment Region. The combined estimates of the employment

opportunity through SIR are estimated to be above 31.0 Lakh persons in the state. Following are

some of the examples of the Investment regions verses employment promises;

Table 1: Area and Employment estimates in Some SIR Special Investment Region Area

(sq.km)Proposed Em-ployment

Dholera, Ahmedabad 879.00 3,42,000PCPIR, Dahej 453.00 1,20,000Anjar, Kachchh 630.00 6,29,444Changodar, Ahmedabad 319.00 4,62,287Okha, Jamnagar 196.00 Not KnownHazira, Surat 195.00 1,10,903Santalpur 186.00 3,00,000Navlakhi 182.00 6,85,000Source: Special Investment Regions: Sector Profile, Indexb (2010)

ISSUES AND CONSEQUENCES

(a) Growth of GIDC and land utilized

Since 1960, GIDC has played important role in setting up industrial infrastructure for the

prospective industries in the state. As per the latest data (2010), GIDC manages 248 sanctioned

estates, out of which 182 are currently functional. The above table gives details of the land

acquired, developed and allotted in various districts / estates of Gujarat. Although the largest

number of estates exists in the Saurashtra and Kachchh region, the area under GIDC estates is

largest in Central Gujarat. This includes the Anand, Kheda, Vadodara, Dahod, Panchmahals and

Bharuch districts. As per the data available with Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board

(GIDB, 2010: Website), the chemical estates in Gujarat are located in Vapi (1100 ha), Panoli

(900 ha), Ankleshwar (1600 ha), Dahej (4400 ha), Jhagadia (1700 ha), Vilayat (1000 ha), Sachin

(778 ha), Pandesara (219 ha), Naroda (367 ha), Vatwa (527 ha) and Petro-Chemical Complex,

Vadodara (745ha).

Table 2: Region-wise Land Utilization by GIDC Estates

Estates Ahmedabad & North Gujarat

Central Gujarat

South Gujarat

Saurashtra & Kachchh

Total

Total Sanctioned 56 57 32 103 248Area (ha) 6113 13002 8466 5859 33441Developed 42 50 24 66 182Area (ha) 2677 12749 5005 2247 22679Under Develop-ment

2 1 2 9 14

Area (ha) 101 252 10 1888 2254Planning / LAQ Stage

12 6 6 28 52

Area (ha) 3334 3449 13723 20507Source: http://www.gidb.org/gidb/cms.aspx?content_id=120 (Accessed on 28th Nov 2010)

The negative fallout of these chemical estates is well documented by various studies conducted

by the national and international agencies. Vapi, Ankleshwar and PCC (Vadodara) has been

accorded extremely polluted zones, by agencies such as CPCB7. The impact on the agriculture

and environment had been immense owing to poor functioning of the Common Effluent

Treatment Plants (CETP) managed by the industries. The aggressive industrial investment in the

7 CPCB, (2009), Comprehensive Assessment of Industrial Cluster, Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi (Pdf Document)

state may further jeopardize the ecological concerns of the state as expressed in the State

Environmental Report 2005 summery reports prepared by the Gujarat Ecology Commission8.

(b) Industrial Land Utilization:

Gujarat had utilized nearly 2.6 Lakh hectares of land for the industrial purpose in the state during

1960-2004 for nearly 20389 units employing 8.76 lakh workers. Whereas between the year

2004-2010, the industrial united increased to 23308 units employing 10.93 lakh workers. It is im-

portant to note that within a short span six years (2004-2010) industrial areas are expected to util-

ize 4.5 lakh hectares. The land may be locked for another 10 years for the same purpose till the

proposed GIDC estates, SIR and SEZ and subsequent investment materialises.

Table 3: Gujarat: Industrial Development and Land UsedDescription 1960 - 2004 2004-2010*Industrial Units (Factories) 20389 2919@ Workers (Factories) 876483 216557@ Investment (Rs.) 11443.155 Billion 614 Billion+Land Used/Acquired (Total) 1.6 M Ha 0.7 M Ha+Industrial Land Acquired 2.6 Lakh Ha 4.5 Lakh Ha**Total Non Agricultural Land 1.14 M Ha 1.17 M Ha*Forest Land Diverted 15000 Ha 3000 HaWaste Land Used 31000 Ha 1500 HaNet Sown Area 9.79 M Ha 10.10 M HaTotal Cropped Area 11.36 M Ha 12.80 M HaIrrigated Area 3.97 M Ha 3.63 M Ha*Total State Area 19.60 M Ha 19.60 M HaProposed by present SEZ/SIR Projects in Gujarat, Estimated from GoG Database, + Estimated September 2010, @ = 2004-2007 **Indexb, GoG (Intented land ac-quisition/utilization)

Since year October 2006 the SSI is included in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) through MSMED Act 2006, comprising about 2.30 lakh units employing 12.90 per-sons.9 These MSME units are located in various industrial estates including the estates under the GIDC and outside.

8 GEC(2006), State of Environment Report 2005, Gujarat Ecology Commission, Vadodara9 GOG (2010), Socio-Economic Review 2009-10, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Gandhinagar

Table 4: Estimated Land Utilization by Industries (1960-2010)Industrial Activit-ies

Years Nos Type Estimated Land Util-ized/ Pro-posed in Hectare

IndustrialUnits

Em

plo

y-m

ent

E

s-ti

mat

es

Inve

stm

ent

Est

imat

es

(Rs.

B

il-

lion

)

GIDC Estates (Functional)

1960-2010

248^(182)

SMEs Me-diumLarge (Pub-lic and La-bour In-tensive)

26324** 16326 300000 223**

SEZ Approved/Notified

2004-2010

60 Large Private & MNCs

32471+ NA 2024000+ 264+

SIR -Declared 2007-2010

13 Large Private MNC

398453.46*

NA 3107906* 350*

Factories Till 2006-07

All Types 2.5 Lakh ha (2004)++

23308^ 1093040^ 15767.02^

^GoG, Statistical Abstract -2008, ** Estimated by GIDC(2009), + MOCI New Delhi (2010)*GIDB (2010), ++ Lobo and Kumar (2009). Note: Employment for SEZ and SIR is estimated to be after completion of projects declared in Vibrant Gujarat Summits and subsequent implement-ation (2003-2010). The above estimates exclude the units and land utilized by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the state.

There is shift in the industrial land allocation which was primarily through the Gujarat Industrial

Development Corporation till 2004, the large scale public industries were allotted land. After the

new industrial policy shift the SEZ and SIR largely is expected to allocate land to large corpora-

tions both multi-national as well as national. The SIR is subject to be managed by Regional De-

velopment Authority (RDA), apex organisation under the state government with out involvement

of local bodies. The democratic authority of the local bodies is diluted by the act to facilitate the

industrial development in the region.

(b) Peaceful Industrial Development Claims by State

The Gujarat state is projected to have peaceful industrial development comparision with the dif-

ficulties faced by the large private corporations in other parts of the country. However, there sub-

ject to close scrutiny of the main stream media it can be said the protests in Gujarat has not got

support from the civil society and failed to become a mass movement against the business ori-

ented state government (see Table 5).

Table 5: Summery of Peoples Protest and conflicts against Land Utilization by Industries under SEZ and SIT

Place Year of Opposition

Project Land (ha) Villages District Opposition

Rajula 2007 Power Plant (Visa Power) 1000 3 Amreli Protest by FarmersMundra 2003-2009 Port /SEZ - Adani 13000 14 Kachchh Protest by Farmers/Fishermen/LegalJamnagar 2007 Reliance SEZ  1600  8 Jamnagar Protest and Legal case filedMahuva 2008-10 Nirma Plant & Quarry 3288 50 Bhavnagar Protest by leaders/Legal caseUmargam 2009 GVIC (Multi Product) 1100 2 Valsad Protest by FarmersSanand 2008 Tata (Nano Plant) 445 1 Ahmedabad Protest by FarmersNavlakhi 2007 SIR -Corporate Farming 18210 37 Rajkot Protest by FarmersHazira 2010 SIR - Hazira-Pinjrat 19920.14 23 Surat Protest by FarmersSanand 2010 SIR - GIDC (Auto) 138000 12 Ahmedabad Compensation and LegalSantalpur 2010 SIR - GIDC (Agro/Solar) 160000 13 Patan Farmers against Corporate FarmingHalol -Savli 2008 SIR- GIDC (Auto) 122000 12 Vadodara Protest for Job PromiseDholera 2008-09 SIR 50000 30 Ahmedabad 25% area suffers from Soil ErosionOkha 2008-2010 SIR 19790 21 Jamnagar Opposed by Farmers and FishermensPipav 2010 SIR 14469 29 Bhavnagar Plan not known to peopleSimar 2010 SIR 8370 24 Junagadh Protest by Fishermen/FarmersAnjar SIR 112136.12 30 Kachchh Plan not known to peopleAliyabet 2009-10 SIR 16857 1 Bharuch Maldharis - Grassland AffectedDahej 2003-2008 PCPIR (SIR) 41307 52 Bharuch Legal-CompensationChangodar 2010 SIR 32248.4 65 Ahmedabad Protest against corporate farmingSource: Media Reports (Unconfirmed)

The state has been successful in facilitating industry to setup the special economic zones and

promulgations of Special Investment Region in and around these location would further allow

the industry to function as desired by state. Even though 60 SEZ in the state is in various

stage of implementation, the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation would be largest

industrial land holders (57,000 ha) followed by Adani Group (13,000 ha) under its various

activities. What would happen in case land is not properly utilized for the intended purpose?

There is no clear mandate for the villagers or RDA to take back those lands under specified

period. There is no study available which would have assessed the environmental or social

impact of these large projects. Whether state is absolving itself from the national and global

environmental concerns (including rising sea water and climate change)?

Table 6: Corporate Land Holdings in Gujarat (Some Examples) UtilizedInsdustries Land

Holding*Purpose Remarks

Adani Group 13000 ha MPSEZ/Port/Power Plants in Kachchh district

Resulted in destruction of Mangroves and Grass Lands in Kachchh

Reliance Group

11000 ha Existing Refinery, Jetty and SEZ

Existing: Jamnagar: 7500 Acres, Hazira 1000 acres, IPCL 1600 acres, Dahej 1800 acres and Proposed 10600 acres for RILSEZ at Jamnagar10

Within the Main RIL Refinery 1627 acres was utilised for Green Belt – Jamnagar Farms Pvt. Ltd (100% RIL Subsidiary) Exports Kesar Mangoes

About 9000 acres land was to acquired by GoG for RIL in SEZ (declared dry land/poor soil by District Agricultural Officer) as refered from court case against RIL in High Court and Supreme Court. Rejected in favour of RIL.

Tata Group 1476 ha Auto and IT Indus-tries

1031 (IT Project) and 445 Ha (Nano Plant)

Essar Group 4500 ha Projects in Hazira (Surat) and Jam-nagar Refinery

1500 acres Power Plant at Salaya, 700 acre green belt at Vadinar, 900 acre Hazira Plant (Surat). In one of the study 25% of the 175 Sq.km land in Hazira is utilised by ESSAR. However confirmed data was not available.11

GIDC (GoG) 57000 ha Selling/Lease to 31241 ha Planning to Acquire in 2010-11

10 Times of India, Adani Biggest Land Lord, Ambani closing In, 30/07/0611 Mansi Asher, Independent Researcher

Corporates (as per GIDB data)ADAG (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group)

1000 ha Power Plant at Pipavav

Land not taken by NTPC

L&T 400 ha Ship Building Yard Proposed to acquire at HaziraShell 200 ha LNG Terminal/

Cargo PortProposed to Acquire at Hazira

* Estimated from various reports and data, Mundra SEZ Site12, MoCI, GIDC (GIDC site)

(c) Inter basin Transfer of water for Bulk use in Industries including SEZ and SIR

The state which had fought with resistant to get the Sardar Sarovar project cleared in all re -

spects was desired to usher second Green Revolution in Gujarat by using the Narmada water

is now looking other way to allow industries an access to parched water resources. With the

massive industrial investment over Rs. 350 billion is expected to increase the water demand

from irrigation canal to over 3000 Million Litres per day. This is same source from where

state desperately needed water to irrigate its dry regions for crop production.

In one of studies conducted by GIDB which states that, ‘studies of various industrial estates

and stand alone units in Gujarat suggest 1 MLD of water demand is usually generated by an

investment of around INR 1000 to 1500 Million of investment.’ (GIDB :p 22)13 Thus requir-

ing large volume for water for the industrial investment projected in state after year 2004.

In Kachchh it has been estimated to have water demand for industries of 380 Million Liters

per day against the designed 45 Million Liters per day under the water supply scheme by SS-

NNL. This enforces either the potential diversion of the canal water by the state for the indus-

trial purposes. As per the recent report, ‘SSNNL was forced to stop implementation of Canal

Network in Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Vadodara and Mehsana districts for irrigating land upto

1.2 lakh ha (6% of total 18 Lakh Ha) which is converted into NA use for Industries. Addi-

tional 1.0 Lakh ha would be excluded from canal network by the project end.’14

12 http://66.98.208.83/~mundrapo/innerpage.php?id=413 GIDB (2009), Study of Development Potential of Kachchh, Dalal Mot MacDonald, Ahmedabad (pdf doc)14 Input from Source: AhmedabadMirror.com (29Oct2010), Statement by MD (SSNNL)

(d) Project Affected People (PAP) and R&R Policy

Since 2004 the states aggressive industrial land utilization approach has been increasingly ad-

opted by the pending Resettlement and Rehabilitation policy (R&R) in the state. The pro-

posed SIR or SEZ Act does not mention about R&R except land is to be acquired for the SIR

which is deemed to be public purpose under the Land Acquisition Act 1894. The central gov-

ernment is awaiting R&R Bill and Land Acquisition Amendment Bill since 2007 to be man-

dated as Act. With the present accelerated industrial development policy of the centre and

state its highly unlikely that these two acts would see light of the day. With more than 1000

SEZ sanctioned across the country, its upto the states to decide on the appropriate R&R

policy. States like Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal etc have formulated some policy

which is received well by the industries as well the affected people.

Table 7: Land Utilization (Acquisition) for SIR & SEZ in Gujarat and Affected Population

S.n. SIRNo. of Villages District

Area (Sq.Km.)

Area (Ha)

Land Ac-quired (Ha)

Total Pop.

Working Pop.

Primary Cultivators

Primary Agricultural Labourer

Marginal Cultivators

Marginal Agricultural Labourer

1 Aliyabet 1 Bharuch 84.24 8424 16,858 427 259 4 0 1 0

2 Anjar 32 Kachchh 552.32 55232 63,000 44,469 18149 4054 3648 393 900

3 Changodar 65 Ahmedabad 623.32 62332 32248.4 167229 80207 16702 20036 1396 14641

4 Dholera 30 Bhavnagar 1052.27 105227 87900 44683 19298 3564 4419 414 4552

5 Halol_Savli 12 Vadodara 86.06 8606 12200 26170 13248 4136 1807 1335 2565

6 Hajira 18 Surat 91.4 9140 19500 71314 29607 2438 3606 218 686

7 Navlakhi 47 Rajkot 569.11 56911 18200 74810 30107 11142 3851 2223 1941

8 Okha 18 Jamnagar 252.8 25280 19600 14986 6624 2994 697 2183 688

9 PCPIR 50 Bharuch 514.73 51473 45300 58324 24474 4553 7705 516 2621

10 Pipavav 30 Bhavnagar/Amreli 273.43 27343 14500 49142 21630 7546 4529 1587 3371

11 Sanand_Viramgam 12 Ahmedabad 202.84 20284 17700 28519 13480 2747 3599 287 3518

12 Santalpur 13 Patan 181.85 18185 18600 24648 11149 3646 3492 400 1216

13 Simar 23 Junagadh 144.01 14401 7800 38363 16461 5964 2799 2352 2454

Sub Total SIR 351 4628.38 462838 373406.4 643084 284693 69490 60188 13305 39153

All SEZ 48 Various 648.87 64887 32471.01 395555 143847 8773 14330 2149 8256

Grand Total 399 5277.25 527725 405877.4 1038639 428540 78263 74518 15454 47409

Sources: Ministry of Commerce and Industry – Web Data (2010), Vibrant Gujarat 2011 Sector Documents (2010), Census of India - CD Village Directory (2001)

From the land utilization data for the SIR and SEZ in the Gujarat state it is evident that about

4.5 lakh ha land is expected to be utilized for industrial activities and townships (see Table 7).

As per the available information the proposals are going to affect about 400 villages in the

state affected 1.0 million persons of the state. These villages comprise of 78000 cultivators

and 74,000 agricultural labourers would be directly affected by massive utilization of their

lands. These people would be required to be rehabilitated since livelihood deprival would

cause extreme hardship.

The agricultural labourers, casual labourers and marginal farmers belonging to poor, dalit and

tribal communities would be hardest hit in absence of active state intervention for their rehab-

ilitation. Since these areas are expected to invite new migrants to the industrial sites which

might result in surge in population from 1 million to 5 million during the next decade. This

would bring demographic transition in the project affected areas associated with the social

changes. With the advent of the new economies and activities the local resident population

would be marginalised unless they are trained and adaptive to new situation. It is still unclear

about the socio-economic impact of the industrial development on resident population and

areas.

(e) Impact on local and Regional Planning

The aggressive industrial development approach and resulted desire to achieve the social de-

velopment goals is on agenda of the state government. The present development is against the

backward areas development norms where ‘Agriculture First’ strategies for development of

backward areas were adopted during the earlier plan periods. Traditionally the industries

were supposed to have functional relationship and consistent with their region which was

neglected during the current centralised industrial development by the state and centre. Is this

industrial development is as per the central or state planning documents? This path would

strengthen selective pattern of the development in the developed regions and relatively better

off sections of the population. It will neglect the relatively backward regions which are envir-

onmentally degraded and weak in infrastructural facilities, as these regions may not lead to

high return on investment in the short run.

It is also clear from the present policy that state continues to promote the developed region

whereas resources of backward regions are exploited while cheap land is being utilized. Agri-

culture unfortunately remains a non priority sector for the states development policy under

the influence of large corporations and private capital. This selective development would put

constraints on state growth in long run by (a) leaving agriculture weak and fluctuating, (b)

widening regional disparities in growth and (c) shrinking of overall size of market in the

state. Thus present industrial development strategy would be making difficult to remove

poverty level in the rural Gujarat in long run without excessive migration of people to project

regions.

State creation of Special Investment Regions (SIR) and Special Economic Zones (SEZ)

would fuel the urbanisation of the remaining districts without taking appropriate reforms and

development strategies for the existing small and medium towns. The neglect of small and

medium towns by the state and promotion of new urban settlements would be serious impact

on the survival and livelihood of city and its people.

Significant power was granted to the local bodies under the 73rd and 74th constitutional

amendments, where in the local bodies had active role in the development of regions. In the

present SEZ and SIR Acts the local bodies are not to be consulted by the state or the indus-

tries. It is the state which decides the location of industries without even consulting the State

Pollution Control Board. The mainland Gujarat from Mehsana to Vapi is already seen con-

centration of industries since early 1960s. Further industrialisation in these belts would cause

serious damage to the environments as stated by the state of environments reports prepared

by the Gujarat Ecology commission.

(f) Over employment and Shortage of Labour in Gujarat

The state has least unemployment ratios in the country, with only 5 of the 1000 persons of

working population are unemployed. The state with aggressive industrial policy would allow

multiple and increased employment choice to its people. It can be estimated that state is

already short of labour force in Agricultural, Industrial and services sector of its economy.

With major industries like Diamond, Textile etc are failing to meet the labour supply from the

traditional sources, mainly migrants from poorly developed states. The success of the rural

employment guarantee schemes in many parts of India including Gujarat would provide ini-

tial setback in the labour supply. The cost of the production and labour accumulation in the

state is slated to increase as the demands between the sectors are going to increase. At present

60.99 Lakh persons are employed in 24.26 lakh establishment engaged in different economic

activities other then crop production and plantation in state (SER 2010). The proposed SIR

and SEZ are expected to generate employment to additional 50 lakh persons in next decade

requiring high and semi-skilled work force. This might result in diversion of more working

population from the primary sector to the secondary and tertiary sector. In spite of the

primary sector facing the shortage of labour required for the commercial crops like cotton and

Tobacco, the industries would further trigger the exodus of people from this sector. Gujarat

would be having good capital investment but might face severe shortage of labour and skilled

persons.

References

GOI, Website Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GoI, GIDB (Gujarat Industrial

Development Board)

GOG, Website of GIDB, accessed (August-September 2010) for online information

Lobo and Kumar (2009), Land Acquisition, Displacement and Resettlement in Gu-

jarat (1947-2004), Sage Publication, New Delhi

GOG, Presentation Material of Vibrant Gujarat 2004 to 2009 (PDF and PPT Docu-

ments)

GoG Official Website - Industria Policy and Other Documents

GOG, Statistical Abstract (2007-08), GoG, Gandhinagar, 2009

INDEXb (2010), Special Investment Regions: Sector Profile, Vibrant Gujarat 2011

GOG (2010) Socio-Economic Report 2009-10, Directorate of Economics and Statis-

tics, Gandhinagar