FN: Frederick Noronha’s blog

Just come across a copy of the National Centre of Advocacy Studies’ documentary by Atul Pethe (director) titled SEZ Arajakachi Nandi. It’s a documentary obviously released in Pune in October 2006.

One description:

The Indian Government in 2005 passed the preposterous Special Economic Zone Act to facilitate the growth of industries in various sectors byproviding them several incentives like tax rebates, freeinfrastructure, relaxation of labour and environmental regulations.Over the past year the Ministry of Commerce has approved more than 200SEZs. These projects are coming up in a big way in Maharashtra,Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, UP, Haryana and theCentral Eastern Belt of the Country.

Of the 267 projects, 50 are proposed to be in Mahrashtraalone. These would be spread over thousands of hectares in Raigarh,Nanded, Amravati, Aurangabad, Pune, Solapur, Yavatmal, Latur, Nashik,Thane, Nagpur and Jalna districts. Local communities whose lands arebeing acquired for SEZ projects have been voicing their protests.

In order to support the groups working on the issue andto highlight the SEZ struggle in Maharashtra, National Centre forAdvocacy Studies (NCAS) has supported the production of a documentaryin Marathi “SEZ -Arajakachi Nandi” made by film-maker Atul Pethe.

At first encounter (not seen it full yet), it seems interesting, well made, and while it has a rustic touch about it (of course, these are rural stories) it would surely be worth a watch. Not just for those concerned about the economic direction of “superpower”India and its implications for the rural poor, but for every citizen who is concerned about how the “other half” (probably much more than half!) lives.

technorati tags:documentary, films, sez, pune, ncas, india, rural-issues, rural

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