Thaw in SEZ freeze likely

171 developers with land free of legal problems could benefit from the move

ARUN S
DATELINE

NEW DELHI, MAR 2: The government is likely to allow developers of
Special Economic Zones (SEZ) with land free of controversy and legal
wrangles to go ahead with the development of their projects. The move is
significant, as it would give relief to171 SEZs, which were not notified
by the government despite receiving formal clearances from the Board of
Approval.
The government decided to put the notification of SEZs on hold after
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for the formulation a national
rehabilitation policy before any fresh approvals were issued. So far, 63
SEZs have been notified, which have already brought in over Rs 13,500
crore in investment and created 18,000 jobs.

Officials told FE that defreezing of the notification on SEZs could take
place as early as next week. This would not violate the mandate of the
Empowered Group of Ministers, which is looking into various issues
relating to SEZs, including that of rehabilitation of those displaced by
such projects. Sources said the since the developers of these projects
already had clear title deeds for their land, the government could
consider issuing the notifications soon.

The issue of issuing notifications to SEZs with clear land titles is
likely to figure prominently in the Board of Trade meeting under the
chairmanship of Kumar Mangalam Birla, scheduled for Wednesday.

Land Locked
• Issue of notifying SEZs with land to figure in Board of Trade meeting
on Wednesday
• 63 notified SEZs have brought investments worth Rs 13,500 crore and
hired 18,000 people
• Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka,
TN and Andhra asked the govt to lift moratorium on SEZs

Chief ministers of Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh have been lobbying vigorously for the freeze on SEZs to be
lifted. Many of these chief ministers have even shot off letters to
members of the Empowered Group of Ministers seeking a lifting of the ban.

In addition, various domestic and foreign investors have also been
pressing the Centre to relax the moratorium on SEZs. While the Export
Promotion Council for EOUs & SEZs has appealed to the government to
remove the existing uncertainty, companies including Taiwanese footwear
group Feng Tay Enterprises and Sri Lankan textile company Brandix have
written to the commerce ministry as well.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_archive_full_story.php?content_id=156619