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SEZs under Scrutiny
The government showed its determination in protecting the primary objectives of the SEZ policy against real estate sharks by notifying the list of social infrastructure within the zones, ruling out golf courses from the proposals.
The government approved 44 SEZs worth Rs.40, 000 crore, with 24 of the developers getting a formal clearance. These included Global Health Biotech SEZ in Gurgaon, Wockhardt’s Pharma SEZ in Maharashtra, and Suncity and Ansal-promoted SEZs in Haryana.
Essentials on the notified list include laying out roads, captive power plants and water treatment plants.
The Board of Approval okayed Alok Infrastructure for a textile SEZ in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, along with 19 others. The proposal by Hewlett Packard for an IT-SEZ in Bangalore was withdrawn by the company.
The Board has received 62 fresh proposals, and expects considerable investments and increased job opportunities if even 50 or 60 of the 236 formally approved SEZs are built. 36 of these have been notified, and 169 of these approved in principle.
The government will start additional screening of proposals for SEZs, with commerce ministry officials making preliminary checks to examine the proposal’s compliance to parameters defined by it.
The approved Suncity group’s IT SEZ would fetch Rs.811 crore, and provide for 24,000 jobs. The group has also received approval for a 300 acre multi-product SEZ in Ambala worth Rs.3, 000 crore.
Investment in these SEZs is on a large scale – Rs. 7,300 crore in Kandla Port, Rs. 8100 crore multi-service Bentex SEZ in Haryana, and Parsvnath’s Rs.1,900 crore IT SEZ. Shapooji Pallonji is investing in SEZs in Pune for IT, free trade warehousing in Greater Noida, and a multi-product SEZ in Karnataka.
In cases of problems in acquiring land, the commerce and industries ministry has withheld approvals, pending information on details of land available for development from the state governments.
In this regard, the government is keen to formulate a rehabilitation policy for displaced farmers. The policy is likely to be finalized in three months. The delay will affect major projects – among these are The Tata group’s 10 million tonne steel plant in Gopalpur, Orissa, and Gremach Infrastructure’s multi-product SEZ in Digha, West Bengal. Unitech in Maharashtra, Sriram properties in Tamil Nadu and GEPL Mundhra have sought expansion of land area.
On the 19th of January, 2007, 10 proposals from West Bengal alone have been short listed for re-consideration in view of recent unrest in Nandigram. The pharma-biotech – chemical SEZ by Ramky at Midnapur, West Bengal, and two by DLF are among these. Ministry officials said l approvals would be given once land was formally acquired. 42 other proposals will also be taken up.
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