The Hindu Business Line : SEZ: No notification if land is acquired compulsorily

New Delhi June 22 The Board of Approval for the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) on Friday held that if any proposal for compulsorily acquired land comes up from the State governments, it would not be notified as SEZ by the Central Government.

At its meeting held here, the BoA, presided over by the Commerce Secretary, Mr Gopal K. Pillai, gave its nod for 36 formal approvals and nine in-principle approvals, taking the total number of SEZs that were granted formal approval to 339. These 339 SEZs today have lands for development and out of which 126 have so far been notified.

Instructions

Mr Pillai apprised the members of the board that the Central Government has issued certain instructions under which the State governments would undertake acquisition of land for SEZs only when 100 per cent of the owners give consent. It was also directed to the State Government representatives that to the extent possible, double crop and multiple croplands should not be acquired.

Formal approvals

Prominent among the formal approvals accorded today include Electronic Hardware SEZ by Foxconn India Developers Pvt Ltd in Sriperumbudar, Tamil Nadu; aviation sector SEZ by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd in Andhra Pradesh; one IT/ITES SEZ and one gem and jewellery DEZ by Omnibus Industrial Development Corporation of Daman & Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli; three SEZs for bio-technology, light engineering and pharmaceuticals by Navi Mumbai SEZ Private Ltd in Maharashtra promoted by RIL; IT/ITES SEZ by Reliance Infocom Infrastructure Pvt Ltd in Mahrashtra; six IT/ITES SEZs by Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu in various districts of Tamil Nadu and MAS Fabrics Textiles SEZ in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, which is being developed with 100 per cent foreign direct investment.

In-principle nod

Notable in-principle approval SEZs today include, a multi-product SEZ by TIDCO in Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu spread over 10,049 hectares; aerospace related industries SEZ by KIADB in Karnataka and a multi-product SEZ by DLF Ltd in Rajasthan, an official release issued here said.