Question

The first ever public hearing in India, almost like a referendum, on the fate of SEZ was held during the month of September 2008 in / at ___

• A. Verna IT/ ITeS SEZ in Goa
• B. Haryana for Reliance Haryana SEZ
• C. Pen, Maharashtra
• D. POSCO India, Steel SEZ Phase II, Orissa

Hint:

The project involved was the Maha Mumbai SEZ, and the hearing took place in Raigad district of Maharashtra.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

This question is about a specific Special Economic Zone controversy from 2008, when local farmer opposition turned a routine environmental hearing into something closer to a public vote on the project itself.

1. Verna IT/ITeS SEZ in Goa: Goa did see anti SEZ protests around this period, but the referendum like hearing described in the question was not held here.
2. Haryana for Reliance Haryana SEZ: This project also faced land acquisition disputes, but it was not the site of the first such large public hearing.
3. Pen, Maharashtra: In September 2008, a public hearing was held at Pen in Raigad district, Maharashtra, for the Maha Mumbai SEZ project being developed with Reliance's involvement. Thousands of farmers whose land was to be acquired turned up, and the event became a de facto referendum on whether the SEZ should go ahead, since the scale of protest forced authorities to treat it as a verdict from the affected villages.
4. POSCO India, Steel SEZ Phase II, Orissa: The POSCO project in Orissa also saw strong local resistance over several years, but this particular referendum style hearing in September 2008 was held at Pen, not at the POSCO site.

The Pen hearing in Raigad district became a landmark event because it showed, for the first time at this scale, how a public hearing meant for environmental clearance could turn into a broader verdict on an SEZ project.

Let's summarize:

• The hearing was for the Maha Mumbai SEZ project, linked to Reliance.
• It took place at Pen, in Raigad district of Maharashtra, in September 2008.

The correct answer is Pen, Maharashtra.