Punjab to bring in SEZ Act
Keeping in mind the various protests held by farmers over land acquisitions for developing special economic zones (SEZ) in the state and other parts of the country, Punjab government is all set to introduce SEZ Act now. According to well-placed sources in the industry department of Punjab, the government will put a ceiling of 5,000 hectares on an SEZ. There was no cap earlier. Besides state government will not acquire land for an SEZ on behalf of private developers.
Speaking with FE, a senior official in the industry department said, For developing IT SEZ there is an average limit acquiring land is of 10 hectares, for a specific sector SEZ the limit is fixed at 100 hectares while for a multi-product SEZ the limit is fixed at 1,000 hectares. If the Act comes into existence then the upper limit will be fixed at 5,000 hectares. Though the act was proposed in July 2007 but now we are pushing it for implementation to boost the development of SEZ projects which are moving on a slow pace.
A meeting of the empowered committee on SEZ headed by the chief secretary and all concerned officials is scheduled for September 16. After getting the approval from the state government, the proposal will be sent to the Central government, sources revealed.
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