I am not against Special Economic Zones. I am against taking away of prime farm land in the name of Special Economic Zones.

What is the Special Economic Zone I am reading about in the newspapers every day? Most of it is going to be fancy housing. The other day a man was saying he will use 50 acres for IT and 300 acres for housing. So, it is really taking away prime land for real estate.

It is a land grab movement.

Will you elaborate on your vision on Special Agricultural Zones?

Special Agricultural Zone means you take an area which has untapped production reservoir, develop it into a highly productive system with an end to end, what I call conservation, cultivation and consumption and commerce as one link.

For example, we are developing Kuttanad (in Kerala) like this. There is this Vembanad Kayal and the patta sekharams (farm land). We are suggesting that each patta sekharam of 500 to 600 acres should have certain common facilities like a combine harvester, like a tractor and so on because in Kerala, labour is not available for farming.

Vembanad Kayal will be a special agricultural zone because it has three kinds of potential; one for crop husbandry, the other for fisheries and the third for water tourism. The first thing about a Special Agricultural Zone is, good ecology is good business and bad ecology is bad business. I am talking about tourists polluting the Kayal.

Like the Indira Gandhi Canal, we are now developing a scheme to convert the Vembanad Kayal into a special agricultural zone.

Is this going to be the first Special Agricultural Zone in India?

Yes. We will submit our report next month.

When will the real development start?

That is where the entire problem comes. The (Kerala) government has to do that. These are all exciting opportunities but who will really implement them is what we have to see.

You head the task force on agriculture in Rajasthan. When you spoke about Special Agricultural Zones, how did the government there respond to it?

(Rajasthan Chief Minister) Vasundhara Raje is very receptive. I think she went on a padayatra along the canal. All agricultural schemes should be brought together in the special agricultural zone. Make them work, I told her.

The problem is, political interest is there but the bureaucrats are not that enthusiastic because they are there for only a short period.

Image: A farmer waits for rain on his drought-hit paddy field in Morigoan, about 50 kms from Guwahati, last August. Flood-prone Assam state suffered an unusual dry spell last year that hit farmers who depend on seasonal rains to sow rice and other crops.
Photograph: Strdel/AFP/Getty Images

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