Environmentalists Question SEZ Next To Bird Sanctuary

There has been a huge debate on the number of special economic zones (SEZs) in the country but now it seems like the focus might shift to one such SEZ located next to the Sultanpur bird sanctuary, which is a notified national park and home to thousands of migratory birds. 
Environmentalists including the members of the Delhi bird society are outraged over the proposed SEZ which will cover 25,000 acres of land.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s government had signed an MoU with Reliance Industries Ltd this SEZ right in Delhi’s backyard.

According to reports, the Reliance SEZ project will include golf courses, residential areas, warehouses and so-called non-polluting factories near the national park.

While Reliance says they will do everything by the book and no harm will come to the Sultanpur national park and bird sanctuary, bird lovers are not convinced. There has also been a talk to get an independent body like the Bombay Natural History Society to conduct an environment impact assessment.

Earlier Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal’s son Kuldeep Bishnoi, Congress MP from Bhiwani, has called the SEZs nothing but “sophisticated land grab” and the creation of “private fiefdoms that hark back to the zamindari system”, in the Lok Sabha.

Looking at the enormous SEZ tax concessions which include 100 per cent tax holiday for five years, 50 per cent tax-break for another five, and a further five-year tax-break on production based on reinvested profits, there is no doubt that most SEZ promoters include big corporate names. So while SEZ developers will pay no taxes for 10 years, we might have enough birds in the Sultanpur sky by that time. As SEZ developers enjoy tax benefits, Birds will be disturbed and their flight-paths blocked.