Govt may ease land ceiling on multi-product SEZs

SEZ developers can soon find respite with the Government strongly considering relaxing the upper limit on the size of SEZs to 10,000 hectares. Alongside, it is also planning to amend the land acquisition law to remove earlier hitches, said Gopal Krishna Pillai, secretary of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry. A rehabilitation policy for those displaced by SEZs is also in the works and said to be announced soon.

Earlier this year, in April, the empowered group of ministers EGoM on SEZs had capped the upper limit on the size of multi-product SEZs at 5,000 hectares. Following the decision, a lot of plans for large SEZs were put on hold. Mukesh Ambani8217;s Reliance, for instance, had planned a 9,000-hectare SEZ in Raigad district in Maharashtra at the time the policy decision was announced.

Though the Government is considering relaxing the norms8212;the upper limit on size to 10,000 hectares8212;according to Pillai, this will be taken up on a case-by-case basis only.

Pillai speaking at the India Economic Summit today also informed that SEZs have been a success and 60 SEZs had created direct employment of 52,000 and indirect employment of 1,00,000 which he expected would go up to 6,00,000 by the end of 2009.

He also informed that 404 SEZs have been formally approved by the Government and out of these 172 have been notified. Foreign direct investments in SEZs are also expected to increase three to four time within the next one year.