The Hindu Business Line : Kerala Govt thrust on SEZs to woo investors

IN a bid to accelerate its sagging pace of industrialisation, the State Government is focusing on setting up special economic zones (SEZ) as an initiative to attract new investments into the State.

The Cochin Special Economic Zone in Kerala is already designated as a SEZ of the Government of India. "In addition to this, the State Government plans to convert the industrial growth centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Palakkad as SEZ with the necessary regulatory approvals from the Government of India," an approach paper presented before the Business-to-Business Meet organised here has said.

The advantages of setting up SEZ are many. An exclusive Development Commissioner for each SEZ will look after all matters pertaining to such zones in the State. He will be responsible for providing clearances under various regulations of the Government of India and the State governments. The Commissioner will act as the intermediary between the Government and a whole host of agencies to facilitate all the requirements of the industrial units in his SEZ.

Further, the Government would facilitate clearances, which are not granted within the SEZ and advise on issues, which require policy amendments or clarifications. The units in the SEZ will be privy to a large number of exemptions such as permits from local bodies, town planning departments and development authorities for construction of buildings to start industrial undertakings.

A single window clearance board would be notified for each zone for providing fast track clearances. Over and above ensuring adequate power and water supply within each zone, a self-certification regime will be introduced for all industries.

The State is far ahead with the availability of certain crucial facilities such as density of roads, telephone density and other communication facilities, the paper, Resurgent Kerala — The Investment Destination for the 21st Century, has pointed out. According to figures in the paper, the State has a road density of 3,749 km per 1,000 sq.km. area, much above the national average of 749 km. For every one lakh of population, the State has 480 km of roads against the national average of 25 km.

By the year 2000, Kerala had a telephone density of 5.5 telephone connections per 100 people as against the national average of 2.85. With the high density of population, the State has one post office in every 7.71 sq.km. against the national average of 21.26 sq.km.

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