SEZ – why treat them on par with real estate – Commerce Secretary seeks clarification
The new Commerce Secretary GK Pillai in his first press conference after assuming office had quite a few bites for the press. He informed that he had a written a lrtter to the RBI seeking a clarification on why the SEZs are treated on par with real estate.
++ not a single farmer has been displaced owing to the 181 SEZs which have been cleared till now
++ 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.
++ 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.
++ States had been told to ensure that double cropped land should not amount to over 10 per cent of the land being acquired.
++ 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.
++ Customs clearance of perishable goods will be faster.