Revised SEZ policy puts Haryana govt in a spot

The Union government's changes to the policy on special economic zones (SEZs) are likely to impact Haryana the most.

The Haryana government recently entered into a joint venture agreement with DLF and Unitech Commercial Developers Ltd for setting up SEZs.

The state government signed its maiden joint venture agreement with Reliance Industries Ltd last year according to which 1,715 acres acquired by Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation was transferred to Reliance India.

Later, the corporation was renamed Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation to partner Reliance Industries in the 25,000-acre SEZ in the NCR.

No Haryana government official was ready to comment on what course of action the state proposed to take after the cap on the size of SEZs. According to sources in the government, the state will have to rework the plan for the development of SEZs if the new norms are implemented strictly by the central government.

The same model was replicated for DLF's and Unitech's zones. DLF proposed to develop a 20,000-acre SEZ in Gurgaon. According to sources, the high-powered committee chaired by the chief minister decides on the synergy of HSIIDC with the companies.

Of the 49 projects for which approvals have been given in principle, HSIIDC has entered into partnerships for four projects, where it will acquire 25 per cent of the total land for the SEZ.

Under the amended guidelines, the total area of an SEZ cannot exceed 12,500 hectares and 50 per cent of the area (previously 25-35 per cent) should be earmarked for core manufacturing activities.

According to sources in the government, the state will have to rework the entire plan for the development of SEZs if the new norms are implemented strictly by the central government.

"HSIDC developed 10,000 acres in the last 30 years. Even that did not develop fully as many plots in he are still unoccupied. The clandestine objective of SEZ promoters is to grab land for townships and not industrial development," said Sampat Singh, former finance minister of Haryana.

He said when the SEZ policy was originally framed, most parliamentarians were not aware of the concept of an SEZ. With increased awareness among the policymakers, the new model would be more citizen-friendly and focus on sustainable development.