The Hindu Business Line : Multi-product SEZs may be allowed to buy more land

New Delhi, Dec. 3 The Government is likely to allow multi-product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) developers to acquire land beyond the currently specified ceiling of 5,000 hectares for such zones.

The Empowered Group of Ministers on SEZs had, in April this year, pegged the ceiling on multi-product SEZs at 5,000 hectares.

The relaxation in ceiling would happen on a case-to-case basis and may come about once the Land Acquisition Act was amended.

The Bill, for this purpose, is expected to be introduced in Parliament during the current session.

“Now that the rehabilitation policy has come into being and there is a proposal to introduce a Bill to amend the Land Acquisition Act, the Government is likely to look at increasing the upper limit for land acquisition by SEZs,” Mr G.K. Pillai, Commerce Secretary, said at the India Economic Summit here on Monday.

Mr Pillai later clarified to newspersons that there were only three or four cases (including that of Kandla SEZ) where the developers were keen on land area beyond the current level of 5,000 hectares.

The Government has so far given formal approvals for 404 SEZs spanning 19 States and three Union Territories. Another 160 applications are before the Government.

As many as 172 SEZs have been notified so far by the Government, out of which 60 have already commenced operations in the last 18 months.

At the summit, Mr Pillai said that SEZs would by end-March this year give direct employment of 1,50,000 against the current level of around 50,000.

The total investments made into the SEZs so far stood at $13 billion, out of which $3 billion has come as foreign direct investment (FDI) during the last 18 months.

“From the Government’s point of view, SEZs have been quite a success. I expect a three-fold jump in FDI into SEZs in the next 18 months,” Mr Pillai added.