Click to play videoAmritsar: Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal have been in news for all the wrong reasons.
But there are some villages in Punjab, which would like to offer their land for setting up an SEZ.
In a peculiar situation in Punjab, one village that's feeling left out because it has been denied an SEZ and another that's resisting giving land to SEZs.
Two villages with their two stories – Chita is preparing for a long battle with the state and will resist the hand-over of fertile paddy fields to the government. On the other hand, Siddan is not a village far away but it wants development.
In fact, Siddan feels left out because it has been denied an SEZ. The village will not mind giving up a lot of land.
“Those who sell their land will get the money, and the youngsters will get jobs,” said Gopal Singh, an ex-serviceman.
Gopal Singh’s vote for the SEZ is seconded by Dr Harinder Singh, the only doctor of the village. He believes that once an SEZ reaches these parts, amenities like education will automatically improve.
“If the city comes closer to the village, the teaching standards will go up in the schools around here,” said Harinder Singh.
But in Chita, the gloom is already evident. Voices of resistance are powerful and determined.
“Why should I give away my land? Will I get such a land in return? Then this house of mine will also go away,” said Sarwan Singh a farmer.
And there are even threats that a Singur or a Nandigram may happen here.
“Whatever money they might offer. We will not give up this land and if they force me. I am ready to die for it!” said another farmer Harbhajan Singh.
It's not an easy situation for any government.
The city has reached Punjab countryside. The forthcoming assembly election is crucial because tomorrow's policymakers have to take the decision whether the countryside will remain a little rural as it is now or will become completely invariant and swamped by an urban India.
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