from Special Corrrespondent Ares
for Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji (GA)
Panaji, Feb 5: After getting snubbed for its special economic zones (SEZ) project, Cipla's Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd (MSPL) got relief when villagers, who opposed the SEZ, supported the plant in industry form.
"The village panchayat has resolved that they will accept Cipla's plant not as SEZ but as a normal industry in the form acceptable to the locals," local legislator Pandurang Dhavalikar said.
The notified SEZ is still under scrutiny of central board of approvals which is considering the state government's request to denotify it along with two other SEZs in the state. Goa has already scrapped 12 SEZs.
The locals who had raised hue and cry over Cipla's pharma SEZ at Bhootkhamb plateau in remote Keri village in North Goa, on Sunday February 3 through gramsabha accorded their support for the plant.
Incidently, plant will take shape on 12 lac square metres of land, which was allotted to Thapar-Du Pont's Nylon 6,6 project, 17 years back. Nylon 6,6 project had to be stalled after villagers raised a banner of protest.
Cipla's project too had met similar fate initially when on December 7, 2007, locals entered into the property asking the developers to stop the work. A day later, chief minister Digamber Kamat, announced that the promoters were asked to stop the work till the further government order.
The project received another setback on the new year's eve when the chief minister declared intention to de-notify three SEZs while scrapping 12 such exclusive industrial enclaves.
In a sudden twist, locals on Sunday have come in full support of the project citing employment reasons. "There are 3,500 educated unemployed youth in the 36,000-populated Priol village panchayat. We have decided to give nod to the project only after getting written assurance from them on employment," Dhavalikar, who is a legislator from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak party and supports Digamber Kamat-led government, said.
"The project assures 90 per cent employment to the locals. Besides, there will be direct and indirect employment generated by this project," Dhavalikar justified.
For the villagers, who opposed Nylon 6,6 on pollution grounds, this project is something different. "They have decided to pump water from Vaghurmen river. It will not affect our farms," Madan Kerkar, a villager, who is lobbying behind the project, stated.
While memories of anti-Nylon 6,6 agitation, which saw a local youth being killed in police firing, still remain fresh, the locals feel that there is no other option other than industrialization to weed out increasing unemployment in their village.
"I can show you ample cases where youth are not able to get married because they are jobless. There are youts who have passed their masters degree and are sitting back at home without employment," another villager Nanda Kerkar opined.
The local legislator feels that the villagers, who are skilled in agriculture, will also get indirect employment in the plant.
"They are planning to have garden spread over 2.5 lac square metres land. This will provide work opportunity to many people who have lived their life working in farms. Also, the local self help groups are assured employment as an ancillary industries," Dhavalikar, who earlier had opposed Cipla, said.
Even though, the villagers have cleared off their anti-cipla sentiments, they want that the company should write down their assurances in black and white before going ahead with the project on the plateau situated atop their village adjacent to temple town of Ponda in North Goa.