2007年VOA标准英语-India to Proceed With Controversial Economic Zo

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
08 April 2007

The Indian government has lifted a temporary ban on establishment of special economic zones, but says farmers will not be forced to give up their land for the enclaves. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the economic zones had run into trouble after massive protests by farmers angry at having their land taken.

The government says that industries wanting to establish special economic zones can go ahead with their plans. But it has set new rules.

Kamal Nath

Industry and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath says developers will have to negotiate directly with landowners to acquire land for the industrial parks, also called SEZ's.

"In respect of pending¹ applications, these may be processed, subject to the condition that state governments would not undertake any compulsory² acquisition of land for such SEZ's," he said.

The government also slashed³ the maximum size of the zones by half to 5,000 hectares.

The new rules were announced weeks after violent clashes between police and farmers who had vowed⁴ not to give up their land earmarked for a petrochemical hub in West Bengal state. Fourteen people died in the protests.

The ruling Congress Party became uneasy after farmers in other parts of the country also expressed reservations about parting with their land for the zones. Many said they would be robbed of a livelihood⁵ and others complained they were not being given a fair price for their land.

The government drafted its SEZ policy last year to boost industrialization by providing domestic and foreign investors⁶ with tax-free havens⁷. Supporters of the idea say factories in the zones would take India's economic boom and jobs to the countryside, where poverty is still widespread.

Critics describe them as a disaster, saying farmland should not be used for industry in a country where two-thirds of the population lives off agriculture.

D.H. Pai Panindiker heads an economic research center, the RPG Goenka Foundation. He says the new government standards will make it more difficult to develop special economic zones, because it is not easy to acquire large tracts⁸ of land without the government's involvement.

"The project itself will become unviable, because farmers will quote a very high price and once a part of the land is acquired, to get the remaining adjacent land will become a big problem. The same problem was seen in the case of highways, acquisition of land became a major problem, and it was the governments which had to acquire the land," said Panindiker.

Sixty-three special economic zones have been approved, more than 80 are expected to be cleared soon, and many others are in the planning stages. The government estimates these zones will generate more than one million jobs by 2009.

1 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

2 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

3 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

8 tracts   

大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文

参考例句：

• vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
• There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。