Deshmukh puts brake on Reliance SEZ

BUILD UP: The fact-finding panel warned of farmers' unrest brewing in Raigad.

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New Delhi: Reliance Industries' Maha Mumbai SEZ in Raigad has been nearly been put on hold.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said that the go-ahead for land acquisition would be given only after ensuring nobody was being forced out of their property.

"First the buyers will have to strike a deal with the sellers... and then the issue will come up before the Cabinet Sub-Committee. Its only after the Committee gives the go ahead the land will be acquired," news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

He added that till such time land will remain with the farmers.

"We will issue orders to revenue officials to ensure that even after completing the hearing as per provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, no final award should be passed," he was quoted as saying.

The Chief Minister's statement follows the report by a high-level Congress panel, which warned the state government of a "Nandigram-like flare-up" in affected areas where farmers have been protesting against "forcible" land acquisition.

The statement implies that even if legal proceedings prescribed under the Act are completed, ownership will not be transferred to Reliance.

The fact-finding panel, set up by MPCC chief Prabha Rau, was led by former MPs Sanjay Nirupam and Ramseth Thakur.

It submitted its interim report to Rau on March 29, warning of farmers' unrest brewing in Raigad, where large-scale land acquisition was in progress by Reliance.