Maharashtra okays 51 SEZs

To see Rs 2.34 lakh cr investment by 2017

The Maharashtra government has given approval to the proposals of setting up 51 special economic zones (SEZs) "� the highest number in any state so far "� and expects that these SEZs will bring in investments of nearly Rs 2.34 lakh crore over the next 10 years.

According to the figures released by the chief minister's office, of the 51 SEZs, 16 are promoted by Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the rest by private entrepreneurs, which include big corporate names like Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharat Forge, Bajaj Auto and Wockhardt.

As many as 25 SEZs are sector-specific for IT and ITeS, 10 are multi products-specific and the rest are single product-specific like pharma, auto and auto ancillaries and textiles. These 51 SEZs are expected to house 1.92 lakh manufacturing and service units.

As many 26 SEZs have already been approved by the central government and the rest are in various stages of scrutiny, said a senior official of the state industry department. Among the 26 central government-approved SEZs, 11 are promoted by MIDC and the rest by private players.

Moreover, the state's policy of giving sops to mega projects (with investment of more than Rs 500 crore in developed areas and Rs 250 crore in underdeveloped areas), like exemption from stamp duty, electricity duty and octroi, has attracted 34 proposals for large investments totalling Rs 20,117 crore.

Again, of these proposals, 32 have been approved by the state government and memorandum of understandings (MoUs) have been signed for 10 of them.

It is expected that these 10 projects will bring an investment of Rs 4,635 crore to the state. The state government has signed MoUs with big players like Siemens, M&M, LG, Mico-Bosch, Satyam, British Telecom and Murli Agro.