The Smart City project in Kerala is yet another example of the way in which unjust economic development is being pushed as part of globalisation. We are particularly concerned that a Left government elected to power in Kerala on a mandate of questioning the infirmities of globalisation is now firmly on the same path âEURO" be it the approval for Smart City or the acceptance of ADB loans with all the attendant conditionalities. The Left is particularly open to criticism because it is exploiting the provisions of the anti-people SEZ Act (2006) to push neo-liberal reforms in places like Kerala while opposing land acquisition via the SEZ Act in every other state. We specifically oppose the Smart City project on the following grounds, and appeal to the Kerala Government to reconsider its decision to grant approval to this project.

1. By granting approval to the Smart City project "EURO" an IT/ITES-based SEZ near Kochi, the Government is deliberately making development a vertical process - by focusing and investing on a sector that by itself is the wealthiest. This is a deviation from a socialist ideology, whereby development is conceived to be a horizontal process, through which all sections of society can benefit.

2. Citizens in Kerala have been kept in the dark about the fact that Smart City is an SEZ. Besides not being transparent, the government has also allowed itself to be anti-democratic by:

(a) not allowing a debate to be raised on the issue where citizens finally get to know the pros and cons and

(b) not allowing the citizens to decide on the issue - which has far reaching consequences for all the citizens in the state.

3. The state in this case has acted on behalf of private capital against the general good of all people. This goes against its constitutional obligation to safeguard interests of all citizens.

4. Wealth creation in the information technology sector is not merely accumulation of labour. It's also based on exploiting international draconian legal framework of patents and intellectual property rights - whereby revenue is generated multiple times from a single labour. There is no case for such activity to receive public financial subsidies. We see no reason why the Smart City SEZ in Kerala has been granted sops of a 10-year tax-holiday and concessions in other forms of tax.

5. Smart City SEZ in Kerala is labeled an IT infrastructure project - a sector which cannot just grow with provision of exclusive space, because of its strong inter-linkages and connections with other sectors of economy. This will lead to unevenness in development of infrastructure and economic growth. In a society that is already witnessing the ill-effects of uneven development "EURO" with the highest reported suicide rate in the country "EURO" such projects that create enclaves of "prosperity" are against public interest.

6. The Government claim of "new opportunities" in the context is hollow as the project claims to create only 9000 new jobs per year for ten years. In a state that produces nearly 9 lakhs youth every year with training in software seeking jobs in the sector, such a paltry job creator does not deserve the support and hype that the Government has been offering.

7. The creation of Smart City as an SEZ is against the interest of the working class in Kerala. The rights of workers won over years of struggle "EURO" to unionise; for an 8-hour day; for tenured employment; for democracy at the workplace "EURO" all stand to be denied within the borders of the SEZ as these rights can be suspended by government fiat. In the long run this weakening of workers' rights will not remain confined to the borders of the SEZ.


In the context, we, the undersigned, resolve to oppose the Smart City, an SEZ project in Kochi and demand that the Kerala Government immediately repeal the permission given to the project

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