Government planning to revisit the minimum space criterion for SEZs

28 Jul 2011 Evaluate

The government is considering rethinking the minimum space criterion for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) due to difficulties faced by the developers for acquiring land for SEZs. The stiff protest from the farmers for acquiring land had halted many SEZs projects, numbers of developers are struggling with issues related to land acquisition.  At present, the minimum space requirement for setting up of SEZs is 5,000 hectare.

The commerce secretary Rahul Khullar said, 'Land issues are critical... I think the minimum size is something that needs to be looked at again definitely. You are not going to find 5,000 (hectares) of land area, it is a pipe dream. It's not going to happen... I think that's something we need to talk about.  The commerce ministry is expected to raise this issue for revision before the group of minister (GoM) headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. Earlier, GoM had reduced land ceiling from 10,000 hectares to 5,000 hectares due to protest by farmers.  

Land acquisition has become a very sensitive issue, with few protests turning violent. With the litigations against land acquisition increasing, SEZ developers are facing difficulties to acquire even 5,000 hectares. Many developers are straggling with issues related to land acquisition and many developers have dropped their project because of these problems. 

Commerce Secretary has asked SEZ developers to look at other states for creating SEZs. Currently, states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh has been favorite places for setting up tax free enclaves. These six states account for 92% of India’s total exports from SEZs.  The commerce secretary has asked the developers to consider the other 15-16 states, were there have been a sea changes seen in just five years.

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