The Hindu Business Line : SEZs place `enormous burden' on urban infrastructure: ITPI

`SEZs are not self-sufficient, self-supporting entities. For instance, employees in SEZ units in the vicinity of Vizag have to depend of necessity on the city for most of their needs.'

Visakhapatnam April 29 Special economic zones tend to place an enormous burden on the urban infrastructure of the towns and cities near which they are situated and therefore it is only fitting that at least a portion of the investment the SEZ attracted should be spent on improving urban amenities, says Mr D.S Meshram, the president of the Institute of Town Planners of India (ITPI).

Mr Meshram, who was here on Saturday and Sunday to participate in a seminar on the impact of SEZs on urban infrastructure in million-plus cities, said in an interview that "special economic zones have stirred up so many controversial, debatable points. But I shall confine myself only to the town (and city) planning.

These SEZs place an enormous burden on urban infrastructure. They are not self-sufficient, self-supporting entities. For instance, employees in the SEZ units in the vicinity of Vizag have to depend of necessity on the city for most of their needs."

SEZ surroundings

Therefore, he suggested, the Government should see to it that at least a portion of the investment attracted by the SEZs is spent on improving urban amenities. "It is estimated that 350 SEZs or so would attract Rs 3-lakh crores of investment. There are 27 cities in the country with a million-plus population such as Vizag, excluding the major metros, and there is no doubt that SEZs would cause quite an upheaval.

"Therefore, a regional plan should be prepared for such cities, taking into account the city, the SEZs and the rural areas in between. Otherwise, there is always the possibility that land value in the areas surrounding the SEZs may shoot up and speculators may have a field day. There is also the possibility that the private SEZ developers may indulge in the real estate game, instead of taking up the genuine industrial activity," he said.

Using fertile land

On the question of whether fertile agricultural lands should be allocated for SEZs, Mr Meshram said that it was a very tricky issue, "as sometimes it may be necessary to take some fertile land, as it is contiguous to the not-so-fertile land. After all, a special economic zone cannot be broken up into two or three bits and pieces. Contiguity of land is of the essence and some of it may be fertile. In principle, we can agree that agriculture should not be sacrificed for SEZs. But in practice it may be necessary sometimes to break the rule."

Elaborating on the point, he said that the Government could not restrict the sale of agricultural land for the SEZs. "If some of the private developers want to develop SEZs in agricultural areas, they may seek to buy the land from the farmers. If the farmers are willing to part with their lands for a good price, the Government could not restrict them.

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