In the inaugural address, the Development Commissioner and Chairperson of Kandla SEZ, Ravi Saxena, said that development through this scheme must have a human face.

Highlighting the need to have more institutions that would train the local population with the skills required in specialised industries, he said, "Development is not possible unless proper training is imparted to the locals where these SEZs would come up, as employment creation and empowerment of the people are its major objectives."

Welcoming the introduction of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2007 in the Parliament during the winter session, he said it would facilitate surveys, which will show the exact results of SEZs. "The bill will also render a more accurate human development index," Saxena said.

Contrary to this, the dean of social work department at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Vimla Nadkarni, said the scheme is meant only to create certain powerful and rich individuals. "Overall wealth creation is not happening with the installation of SEZs," she said.

She said the export-oriented zones under SEZs are exporting the country's rich and skilled labour at a cheap rate. Giving example of the farmers in Maharashtra’s vineyards to show the importance of a piece of land, she said that although this industry is a profitable one, but farmers are killing themselves in these regions as they cannot pay off high debts charged by the banks.

"The reason (for committing suicide) is that these farmers are paid peanuts for their labour," she added.

Expressing apprehension that SEZs would lead to forced migration and spread of epidemics, she gave an example of industrial hub Dronagiri in Maharashtra.

Nadkarni pointed out that the labourers who had come to work in the hub were infected with AIDS after they started visiting prostitutes.