Documents on SEZs (special economic zones) reveal that altogether 19 companies had applied to the Goa government for setting up SEZs in the State. Of these, the Pratapsing Rane-headed coalition government had made recommendation to Board of Approvals, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, in 15 cases. These included two government SEZs promoted by Dayanand Narvekar-headed Information Technology (InfoTech) Corporation, namely IT Habitat in Dona Paula and IT Park in Socorro.

At long last, we have direct action from the government on the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that neither the Goan people nor the Goa government want, but the Union Commerce Ministry seems to want to impose on the people of Goa. By cancelling in one stroke the land given to the SEZs for gross irregularities in its allotment, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat has gladdened the heart of every Goan.

SEZ tale in Goa has been of favouritism, irregularities, procedural impropriety, and totally anti-Goa. Since it was first discussed in December 2004 during the BJP regime, SEZ story took a monsterous form in 2006. Pratapsing Rane was the chief minister and Luizinho Faleiro the Industries Minister.

A GLIMMER OF HOPE

It is true that any hike in oil prices will have a cascading effect through enhanced transport costs. But planned price increases are better managed and more equitable than inflation The Supreme Court view that the creamy layer concept can only be abandoned when and if more than 50 per cent of the community in question attains graduate status is fallacious. Few countries in the world, not excluding the most advanced, can boast such levels

Goa's Movement Against SEZs has expressed shock over the statement made by the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Board of Approval for SEZs, Mr G K Pillai, who has accused the Government of Goa of not taking any steps for the last six months, to close down the SEZs and that the Goa Government has even asked for this year's lease rent of land from some developers. In a letter written to the CM today, the convenor of GMAS Matanhy Saldanha suspected that some games are being played and that the government is not displaying its seriousness on the matter.

It is now becoming painfully obvious that apart from announcing that all SEZs were scrapped on New Year's Eve and issuing

In what was described a "courtesy visit', Mr Anthony Salim, the Salim group chief spent more than an hour closeted in a meeting with Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, chief minister and Mr Nirupam Sen, state industries minister and senior officials at Writers' Buildings even as the city lay paralysed following a strike call by Trinamul Congress today. While Mr Salim declared that his group will go whichever way the state government asks with regard to its projects in the state, he also speculated the possibility of launching new projects in healthcare and food processing, reports said.