No farmer displaced by SEZs, says official

Special Correspondent

Asks RBI to clarify credit policy on Special Economic Zones

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Maximum size under consideration
States told to give land only on lease
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NEW DELHI: The Union Government on Wednesday denied that any farmer had
been displaced owing to land acquisition for the 181 special economic
zones cleared so far by the Board of Approval for SEZs.

According to the new Commerce Secretary G. K. Pillai, much of the debate
around SEZs does not consider the fact that only one SEZ in Mumbai in
Maharashtra had been cleared for an area as large as 10,000 hectares.
The other SEZs in Gurgaon and Dadri being cited had earlier been given
approval "in principle'' before the SEZ Act came into force, but had not
been formally cleared by the Board, he said.

Mr. Pillai told newspersons here on Wednesday that "not a single farmer
has been displaced owing to the 181 SEZs which have been cleared till
now.'' In this context, he had written to the Deputy Governor of the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to seek a clarification on the issue of
treating SEZ projects on a par with real estate developers. He pointed
out in the letter that the SEZ Act clearly states that real estate
activity cannot be carried out in these zones. Therefore, he urged the
RBI to clarify as to why it was treating the SEZs on a par with real
estate developers for purposes of lending rates.

Regarding objections raised by the Left parties, he said detailed
discussions were held with them by Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal
Nath, during which the entire issue was explained in depth. He said the
Left parties' representatives suggested that a ceiling on the size of
the SEZs could be included instead of only specifying a minimum size of
1,000 hectares (for multi-product SEZs). This proposal, he said, was
being considered.

Mr. Pillai pointed out that land being a State subject, the Board of
Approval had advised State industrial development corporations to give
land in SEZs on a lease rather than to sell it. Some states, he said,
like Gujarat have decided to give land only on lease basis rather than
selling it. In addition, States had been told to ensure that double
cropped land should not amount to over 10 per cent of the land being
acquired.

Asked about the debate over revenue loss owing to SEZs, he noted that
all tax concessions were up to 2009 along with those given to EoUs and
EPZs. Besides, these would generate a huge amount of economic activity
and provide employment to thousands of people. It was envisaged that
housing should be provided within the SEZs for employees as otherwise it
could lead to congestion in neighbouring cities as has happened in
Bangalore.

Mr. Pillai also disclosed that clearance of perishable goods at the
customs would soon be speeded up as the government was finalising
legislation to upgrade the process to international standards.
http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/05/stories/2006100504711700.htm