Reliance for talks on 5,000 hectare SEZ cap

Terming the decision to cap the size of special economic zones (SEZs) as a "knee-jerk reaction," the Mukesh Ambani-managed Reliance Industries is planning to take up the issue of lifting the ceiling of 5,000 hectares with the government.

"The cap (on SEZs) does not exist in any other country. This is one of the vital issues that would be taken up with the government," Anand Jain, who heads Reliance's SEZ group and is chairman of Mumbai SEZ, told PTI.

On April 5, the empowered group of ministers put a cap on the size of each SEZ at 5,000 hectare after land acquisition in Nandigram, West Bengal turned violent killing 14 people in police firing.

The government's change in SEZ land policy is "knee-jerk reaction", Jain said.

The land cap would affect Reliance's plans because its SEZ in Maharashtra is spread over 10,000 hectares in 45 villages with a projected investment of Rs 35,000 crore. The company's SEZ in Haryana would also be affected by the new rule.

Reliance reaffirmed its earlier stand of one job per family and Rs 25 per lakh per hectare. Jain pointed out that agriculture in the proposed area of SEZ was uneconomical. Most crop land was fit to grow low-yield paddy, he said.

Reliance does not plan to approach the courts for the removal of cap on land acquisition unlike a few SEZ promoters who have threatened legal course. "This is not a final no. This is a policy that is evolving," Jain said.