Govt against approving more than 148 IT SEZs: Pillai

NEW DELHI: The government has decided to place a limit for IT SEZs to 148 only and not to approve their number beyond this in view of stiff opposition from its coalition partners that want that the Board of Approvals for SEZ should not sanction IT SEZs beyond 148,  announced Commerce Secretary, G K Pillai.

Inaugurating the ASSOCHAM organised Conclave on Special Economic Zones: New Growth Propellers, the Commerce Secretary said that the current thinking in the Board is that IT SEZs approvals at 148 are enough and that it should not increase this number in view of growing opposition from some of UPA’s important  partners.

Pillai said, the Board of Approvals had earlier given clearance for 237 SEZs of which 41 have been notified with an investment of over Rs. 5000 crore.  The Board has also given and in principal clearance for additional 166 SEZs for which various ground work was being undertaken by their developers, announced the Commerce Secretary.

Of the 237 SEZs approved by the Board of Approvals, the land acquisition have been done for majority of them by States Industrial Development Corporations and for those SEZs for which the State Industrial Development Corporation did not acquire land,  the land belonged to developers only, said Pillai adding that no governments ever forced land acquisition and did not oust and displace the farmers.

The government he said has also clarified in the SEZ Act that all existing rules and regulations will apply to SEZs including those of labour laws barring the customs regulations and therefore there is no question that the labour force would be adversely affected in SEZs.

© CIOL Bureau