Punjab, Haryana tweak SEZ policy
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2007 01:38:00 AM]
CHANDIGARH: Nandigram and Singur are far away, but the nascent
government in Punjab and the well dug-in Haryana administration are not
taking any chances. Between the two, they have around 70 SEZ projects
coming up, and the two governments are revamping their land acquirement
and farmer compensation policies.
According to Manpreet Badal, Punjab's new finance minister, the state
will soon introduce a 3% displacement allowance (on the price of the
land) as compensation for farmers whose land have been acquired for
setting up industrial units. This of course would be excess to price
paid for the land.
The Punjab government has also announced that a special committee would
be set up to examine the issue of land acquisition. This would include
the district commissioner, the legislator of the region and the chairman
of the district board. "Nobody is against industrial development, but
the farmer has to be given his due. Yes, we are keen on new industries
coming in the state, but these arrivals should be not at the cost of
farmers," Mr Badal told ET.
His counterpart in Haryana, Birendra Singh, is toeing the same line.
"Ever since the UPA chairperson expressed her concerns regarding the
setting up of SEZs during the Nainital conclave, there has been a
perceptible change in the way states approach these projects. A large
number of SEZs have been approved in Haryana, but then most of them are
still on the drawing board. Let us see how many of them will take off.
Also, in terms of approval of the projects, you will see that the future
decision would be backed by a greater degree of political consensus."
The Haryana government, which had earlier set minimum compensation rates
for acquisition of land, has now decided to increase these limits.
For example, the minimum rate for acquiring an one-acre plot in Gurgaon
was Rs 26 lakh (including interest as compared to Rs 19.50 lakh)
earlier. The rate for other parts of Haryana lying in the National
Capital Region (NCR) and Panchkula have been increased from Rs 16.25
lakh per acre to Rs 20.80 lakh per acre. The minimum rate in the
remaining districts of the state has also been hiked from Rs 6.5 lakh
per acre to Rs 10.40 lakh per acre.
Several industrial projects in Punjab and Haryana have run into
controversies because of land issues. The DLF SEZ project in Amritsar
and the Reliance SEZ project in Jhajjar district of Haryana being two
prime examples.
posted by Sudarshan Rodriguez at 9:56 PM
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