Experts see Gujarat as SEZ capital of India

In all,49 SEZs have received formal approvals,11 have received in-principle approvals,26 have been notified and eight are operational in the state. Gopalan further said that the Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended the new land acquisition and rehabilitation policy for SEZs,which will be sent to the Cabinet for approval.

Refuting the charges of agricultural land being acquired for SEZs,he said,“Only 0.061 per cent of the total land in the

country or about 12,000 Ha is being covered by the 544 SEZs formally approved up till now.”

Vala for uniform SEZ Act
Gujarat’s Finance Minister Vaju Vala,who was present at the conclave,called for one SEZ Act for the entire country and a uniform incentive for all. He said that Gujarat will provide a ‘single window’ facility to all investors. The government is contemplating a proposal to drastically bring down the number of inspectors,if not abolish them,Vala said. Most of the factories have been modernised and therefore,the need for providing inspectors is only adding to the corruption,he added.

‘Suggestions’ for SEZ development in Gujarat
* Gujarat must seek a Rs 15,000-crore special package from the Centre for the creation of necessary infrastructure in its coastal areas to attract investments in its SEZs
* Govt must empower the development commissioners to grant Form I to SEZ developers,which exempts from Central Sales Tax
* Gujarat must eliminate the 0.1% cess that it imposes on imports meant for SEZs
* Equal emphasis on developing both manufacturing and IT/ITES-based SEZs
* Land demarcation must be cautious; farmers must be made major stakeholders in SEZs
* Special arbitration mechanisms and dispute settlement courts must be set up
* Reduce state levies on sectors of strength in Gujarat – textiles,gems and jewellery,petrochemicals,pharmaceuticals and engineering