MARGAO: Inspired by the article “Paying SEZ promoters is not a good deal” published in Herald on June 27, Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco wrote a letter to the chief minister on June 29 requesting him to rescind his decision of paying the SEZ promoters a whooping sum of Rs 300 crore to get back the possession of the SEZ land.

He has also requested for a comprehensive debate on this matter in the forthcoming monsoon assembly session.

“Let us not overlook that you along with late Matanhy Saldhana were one of the many Goemkars who had opposed SEZ tooth and nail and it bewilders all the daughters and sons of the soil that today your government has decided to pay over Rs 300 crore to these promoters. I would like to caution you by taking such an illegal decision, your government is disrespecting the Goemkars who had struggled against SEZ in Goa,” he wrote in his letter.

Reminding Parrikar that the promoters had only paid Rs 108 crore for the land and that even though Goa needs industries to generate employment, Reginaldo stated, “It is foolish to pay Rs 300 crore to get back the 38 lakh square meters.”

The decision to pay the SEZ promoters the money they invested in the SEZ with interest amounting to a total of Rs 300 crores came as a shock to many who claim that there is no provision in the law to pay interest on the investment to the companies to get back the land, especially when the courts had declared the allotment of the land as illegal.