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Journalism of Courage
The government has decided not to approve any fresh special economic zone (SEZ) proposals and also hold back clearances for SEZs facing problems over land acquisition until a rehabilitation policy is in place.
According to government sources, the Prime Minister as well as Congress president Sonia Gandhi were keen that a rehabilitation policy for landowners be formulated first. The PM had on Monday said the policy would be ready in three months. The Board of Approval (BoA) for SEZs postponed its scheduled meeting on January 10 at the last minute at the duo’s insistence, they added.
This decision is likely to impact big-ticket SEZ proposals, including that of the Tata group, which plans a 10-million tonne steel plant over 1,173 hectares in Gopalpur, Orissa and of Gremach Infrastructure, planning a port-based, multi-product SEZ over 1,012 hectares at Digha in West Bengal.
The sources said the taking up of SEZ proposals of companies that are either seeking extension of area or where issues relating to a rehabilitation package are to be addressed, would definitely be deferred by the BoA in its meeting on January 19.
There are four proposals seeking extension of area, including that of Unitech in Maharashtra, Sriram Properties & Infrastructure in Tamil Nadu and GEPL Mundhra in Gujarat.
Of the 52 proposals to be taken up on January 19, ten are from West Bengal alone, including the 1,012-hectare pharma, biotech and chemical SEZ at Midnapur by Ramky Infrastructure, and two from DLF. These would also face tough screening given the turmoil witnessed by the state in Nandigram, where Indonesia’s Salim group was planning a mega chemical SEZ.
When contacted, commerce ministry officials said formal approvals would be given only to proposals where land had already been acquired. If a developer had problems regarding land acquisition following an in-principle approval by the BOA, the developer would have to sort it out with the state authorities before returning to the BoA for a formal approval.
So far, the government has notified 50 SEZs, given formal approvals to 237 proposals and in-principle clearance to another 164.
4 projects take shape
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has signed four agreements with the India Infrastructure Initiative — jointly promoted by IDFC and Feedback Ventures — for undertaking project preparation and partner selection for four PPP projects in Maharashtra:
• Textile SEZ at Kagal in Kolhapur (104 hectares; investment expected Rs 230 crore)
• Power SEZ at Usar in Raigad with a capacity of 250 mw (103 hectares area; expected investment Rs 1, 000 crore)
• Power SEZ at Bhadrawati in Chandrapur with a capacity of 1,000 mw (1,100 hectares area; expected investment Rs 4,000 crore.)
• New airport at Sindhudurg (306 hectares area, 25 kms from Kudal; expected investment: Rs. 507 crore)
