Indian Corporate Big-Wigs : Jekyll or Hyde

The Trinamul Congress recently 'exhibited'(rather over-enthusiastically by destroying furniture in the Kolkata Assembly) their oppostion against Tata Motors planning to construct a plant in Singur.According to them it is a fertile piece of land which is being grabbed for the project.Rather surprisingly, the Left(Yes,you heard right - the Left) has been unrelenting in the face of these revolts.Perhaps they are more than assured of their stronghold that is West Bengal,as far as elections are concerned.

This double-standard approach is quite contrary to their reservations regarding the Special Economic Zones being approved in various parts of the country.Some have even termed them as 'Special Exploitation Zones'.One now understands why the Left chose to offer 'outside' support rather than join the cabinet- they don't want to be held responsible for the 'bad' policies of the government, at the same time exerting pressure over UPA.

What do SEZ's do? SEZ’s are treated as foreign territories as far as trade, tariff and duties are concerned. They can source any raw material, capital goods without any approval/licence.They get duty free import,full access to domestic markets, get taxation benefits etc.However , it has turned into more of land grabbing exercise.Many reckon that farmers are made to sell land at lower rates to the corporates.Also it has been argued that in some cases , fertile land has been usurped.

This comes at a time when one hears almost everyday about farmer suicides.The other day I heard about the encouraging GDP growth of 9.2% in Q2.Not surprisingly,agriculture along with allied activities, however, grew by just 1.7 per cent in the second quarter against 3.4 per cent in the first quarter.So are the government along with corporate industrialists resulting in the decline of the already weakened farm sector?

There is some encouraging news though-Corporatised Farming.It involves a farmer selling his producing directly to the corporate retailers.What it does that it eliminates middlemen and wholesalers in turn increasing the profits for the farmers.It also guarantees for the farmers a sustained demand throughout the year and assured payments as against the present system where the prices depend more on market forces.ITC wanted to procure good quality Soya and Wheat from the farmer. Seeing several intermediaries in the way and boosting the price, they planted e-choupals that produced benefits to the villagers and benefited ITC as well.Others like Pantaloon,Reliance etc are planning to enter in this field soon.Even Wal-Mart which will venture into India soon,deals directly with farmers.

More such business initiative in the guise of social responsibility from corporate world will certainly help the cause of farmers.As far as the SEZ's are concerned, acquiring only wastelands for non-agricultural purposes and providing adequate compensation would do justice to the farmers.

And the Left(who else?) is opposing the entry of Wal-Mart,Reliance etc in the Retail sector as well !!!