India's Plans For Special Economic Zones Face Strong Opposition

"The first export processing zone -- or free trade zone as they were earlier known -- in Asia was built near the western Indian port of Kandla more than four decades ago.

But things have changed a lot since then, and the authorities say that they want to emulate the success of SEZs operating in Shenzhen and Pudong - in Hong Kong and Shanghai respectively.

Both have become huge urban agglomerations of concrete and steel, and both have generated huge amounts of cash. Each year, exports from Shenzhen alone exceed India's total exports."

"Critics of the proposed SEZs say that rather than promote prosperity, the zones will in fact create economic hardship because they would be built on prime agricultural land, without adequate compensation for farmers.

They say that the zones would become 'islands of affluence in a sea of deprivation', only serving to exacerbate India's already wide regional imbalances."