Bhaskar group to set up Rs 20,000 cr SEZ in Indore

Writers and Publishers Ltd, promoted by the Hindi newspaper Bhaskar group, has proposed to set up a multi-product Rs 20,000-crore special economic zone (SEZ) in Indore.

The company has said in a statement, "The proposed SEZ will be developed in an area of 4,000 hectares in a phased manner."

The phased investment in the project would be Rs 5,000 crore in 1,000 hectares in the first phase, Rs 5,000 crore in 1,000 hectares in the second, and Rs 10,000 crore in 2,000 hectares in the third, the company in a statement said.

Although officials in government departments are tight-lipped over the project or its clearance from the central Board of Approvals, a government insider confirmed the report.

He told Business Standard the project had been given in-principle approval by the Madhya Pradesh government through its Project Implementation and Clearance Board and had forwarded it to the Board of Approvals.

The officials of the company were not available for comment but another state government source said the project had been given approval by the Board of Approvals in a meeting held in New Delhi on October 4.

The company, in its application to the Madhya Pradesh government, had also urged it to pick an 11 per cent stake to form a special purpose vehicle, which would be named as Surge Developers Private Ltd.

The company (Writers and Publishers) has projected a total annual trade flow of Rs 75,000 crore and annual incremental exports of Rs 50,000 crore. The company, in its statement, further said the SEZ would create 2,500 jobs during construction or development, 120,000 direct and 300,000 indirect jobs during the operational phase.

However, land acquisition will be a hurdle since the entire project needs acquisition of private land. "It requires huge private land and the acquisition of private land is a tough task nowadays," said a government official.

"The government should facilitate the acquisition of identified land for the project, which may include both government and private land," the company said.

It added, "The SEZ should be given the status of infrastructure project at the state level for enabling the developer to get fiscal and other concessions in line with other SEZ projects in Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan."

The company has also asked for the same facilities as that provided to the SEZ at Pithampur.

The state should exempt the SEZ from state and local taxes and levies including sales tax, purchase tax, contract tax, cess, stamp duty, value-added tax, mandi tax, etc, in respect of all transactions made between units and establishments within the SEZs.

"Appropriate grant, equity should be provided to developer for the SEZ project out of the Central government fund provided under ASIDE scheme," the company added in the statement.

The company has also demanded other concessions and sops related to labour laws, environment clearance, power, connectivity, administrative clearance and facilitation.