The Himachal Government seems to have second thoughts on entering into a race for special economic zones (SEZs). Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, in an interaction with mediapersons at Shimla Press Club on Thursday, gave enough indication in this regard by raising doubts over the wisdom of going for SEZs in the “predominantly agrarian state with small holding”.“Personally, I am opposed to the SEZs. I will take an appropriate decision on the issue in due course,” he said in reply to a specific question.The chief minister’s statement puts a question mark over the fate of three SEZs proposed for Kangra, Una and Wakhnaghat (Shimla). Two leading infrastructure development companies—D S Constructions of Delhi and Skill Infrastructure of Mumbai—were approved by the state Government to set up two SEZs in Kangra and Una, respectively. Later, a new SEZ was cleared for Wakhnaghat, a site earlier proposed for IT-based industrial units.Himachal Pradesh expected an investment of Rs 7000 crore in the proposed SEZs but since these involved displacement of families in Una and Kangra, the Government appears to have developed cold feet on the issue, particularly in view of Assembly elections being just a few months away.The Chief Minister said, “We are reconsidering the idea of having SEZs in the state and the currently sanctioned ones are also being re-examined according to needs and benefits of the farmers.” He admitted that Himachal Pradesh could not afford to go against the interests of the farmers and would not like to be involved in any act like land acquisitions, etc. He added that if at all SEZs had to come up, it was up to companies concerned to acquire land and farmers were free to strike best deals, if they chose to do so. Officials in the Industries department confirmed that the Una SEZ had run into legal complications. Besides, the site chosen by the company also involved displacement of agricultural families. Promoters are also not able to get sufficient contiguous land. At a recent meeting convened by Principal Secretary (Industry), the company (Skill Infrastructure) was told to complete the land acquisition process and prepare its detailed project report (DPR). The other company—D S Constructions—wanted at least another year to select the site, prepare its DPR and complete land acquisitions. The earlier deadline given to the company has already lapsed.
