Maharashtra government through its executing agency Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) had proposed a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Wagholi, near Pune in Maharastra in 2007. This is one of many in the state; Maharashtra has in fact over 200 sanctioned SEZs of which nearly half would come up in the Konkan region and another 44 would be in the agro-rich Pune district. |
Description:
Basic Data
| Name of conflict: | Videocon SEZ, Wagholi, MH, India |
| Country: | India |
| State or province: | Maharastra |
| Location of conflict: | At-Wagholi, Near pune |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
Source of Conflict
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Infrastructure and Built Environment |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Land acquisition conflicts |
| Specific commodities: | Land |
Project Details and Actors
| Project details | Videocon is a large Indian company with diversified business. The company along with its subsidiaries is mainly engage with consumer electronics and home appliances business in India and internationally [4]. In 2007 Videocon signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government for establishing a SEZ on 4,500 acres of land near Saswad in Pune district. He said it would solely be a Videocon venture but added that Wagholi had better infrastructure [3]. The proposed investment of the project was about Rs 20,000-crore (Rs 200 billion) for setting up an SEZ [5]. With the intense farmer’s protest the project has been cancelled and an alternate site has been proposed. [6] |
| Project area: | 1,820 |
| Level of Investment for the conflictive project | $3,317,949,594 (Rs 20,000 crore) |
| Type of population | Semi-urban |
| Start of the conflict: | 2006 |
| End of the conflict: | 2009 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | Videocon Industries Ltd from India Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) from India |
| Relevant government actors: | Government of Maharashtra, Government of India |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | Anti- Mahamumbai SEZ Action Committee |
Conflict & Mobilization
| Intensity | HIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...) |
| Reaction stage | PREVENTIVE resistance (precautionary phase) |
| Groups mobilizing: | Farmers Local ejos Landless peasants Local government/political parties Social movements |
| Forms of mobilization: | Blockades Boycotts of official procedures/non-participation in official processes Development of a network/collective action Land occupation Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Street protest/marches Property damage/arson Strikes |
Impacts
| Environmental Impacts | Potential: Food insecurity (crop damage), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Displacement, Land dispossession Potential: Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Loss of livelihood, Violations of human rights, Loss of landscape/sense of place |
Outcome
| Project Status | Stopped |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Institutional changes New legislation Project cancelled |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | Yes |
| Briefly explain: | At the height of protest in 2007, the union agriculture minister at that time Mr. Sharad Pawar who represented the lok sabha (lower house of Indian Parliament) expressed solidarity with the protesting farmers. He assured the delegation of farmers that the state government is planning to scrap the Videocon SEZ project [1]. Mr Pawar also took special initiative and informed that the Union government had formed a committee under him to look into the issue land acquisition for commercial purpose. The committee has issued directives that governments should not use their land acquisition policy to acquire land for any private company. According to The Economic Times Report Dated November 7, 2007 Mr. Power assured that "The Union government has accepted the directive. Henceforth, a government agency will only acquire land needed for social infrastructure like schools, hospitals, roads. A private company will have to work in its own capacity to acquire any land it needs. We have also instructed MIDC to de-notify the lands that it acquired at Wagholi, Bakori, Lonikand and Kesnand villages," [2]. |
Sources & Materials
| Juridical relevant texts related to the conflict (laws, legislations, EIAs, etc) |
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Meta information
| Contributor: | Swapan Kumar Patra |
| Last update | 18/08/2019 |
| Conflict ID: | 1482 |
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