Mukesh Ambani

In a first-ever referendum, farmers of the Raigada district of Maharashtra have voted against handing over their land for a 1 Lakh Crore SEZ proposal of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group.

The Maharashtra government has taken this step keeping in view the experience of West Bengal in Tata’s Nano Project.

The outcome of this referendum was not very difficult to predict and it can be said with reasonable confidence that the result of any other referendum conducted anywhere in the country would be same.

Except for Mukesh Ambani of course, this referendum would have made everybody happy – the political parties, NGOs and the farmers. But the question is – Does this mean curtains for any major industrial project in India? Is there no political will in this country to support developmental projects?

We need huge investment in the industrial sector but how is this investment possible if we are not ready to provide land for these projects. We must not forget that today investors are queuing up with billions of dollars to invest in India and it is the responsibility of state and central government to facilitate the investment. The investors are not going to wait for ever and if we don’t provide a conducive atmosphere, they will go somewhere else. The governments must provide effective governance and come up with more constructive solutions. Referendum is no solutions as we all know its outcome.