All special economic zones (SEZs) cleared when Kamal Nath was commerce minister have come under the finance ministry scanner.
Incidentally, the current home secretary, G K Pillai, was in-charge of these clearances by the Board of Approval (BoA) for SEZs in the commerce ministry, first as special secretary and then as secretary.
Officials said a large number of big SEZs were cleared during this period, including those belonging to the Adani group, Reliance, GMR and GVK.
The Special Economic Zones Act received the assent of the president on June 23, 2005. The Act provides for establishment, development and management of SEZs for promotion of exports. It envisages a key role for states in export promotion and creation of related infrastructure. It provides for a single-window approval through the 19-member inter-ministerial BoA.
BoA considers applications recommended by state governments/UT administrations. Its approvals are unanimous.
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The first meeting of BoA was held on March 17, 2006, under Pillai, who was then special secretary, department of commerce. In this meeting, BoA cleared a number of proposals it had approved in its earlier avatar, that is, before it was reconstituted under the SEZ Act and Rules. The proposals which got formal approval included that for a petroleum and petrochemical SEZ at Jamnagar in Gujarat by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and two SEZs at Mundra in Gujarat.
The new proposals that got in-principle approval included that for Reliance Industries Ltd’s multi-product SEZ in Gurgaon, Haryana, Unitech’s multi-product SEZ in Sonepat, Haryana, and three SEZs of DLF Universal Limited.
Over 500 public and private SEZs were approved during 2006-2009, when Nath was the commerce minister and Pillai the commerce secretary.
Nath got the ministry of roads and surface transport after the Congress came to power in May 2009 and the new Cabinet was sworn-in. Pillai became home secretary in June 2009.