The Uttar Pradesh government has accelerated work on the three special economic zones (SEZs) in Greater Noida-Agra, Kanpur and Bhadoi-Varanasi. The consultants for the projects have been shortlisted and they have been issued the implementation schedule.
More importantly, the government has passed the SEZ Act much before any other state, giving a clear message to investors that it means business. This has given the state immediate dividends in terms of expressions of interest for various projects. Gas Authority of India Ltd (Gail) has evinced interest in establishing a 200 mw power plant in the Kanpur SEZ. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel) has shown interest in various projects and many more parties are coming forward.
In a press conference organised by the directorate of industries, the message was that the Uttar Pradesh government wanted to create a conducive atmosphere for business. The conference was attended by Rita Menon, director of industries and nodal officer, Bhadoi-Varanasi SEZ; Rajiv Kumar, managing director, Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation; Anoop Misra, nodal officer, Taj Economic Zone, and JS Deepak, secretary, industry department.
For the Taj Economic Zone, the consultants selected are L&T Ramboll Consulting Engineers and the associates are Insight Management Consultants and L&T Capital Company Ltd.
For the Kanpur SEZ, Intercontinental Consultants & Technocrats, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sharat Dass & Associates and Dua Associates have been selected.
For the Bhadoi SEZ, Fairwood Consultants Pvt Ltd along with Chesterton Meghraj Property Consultants Private Ltd and SBI Capital Markets Ltd have been selected.
According to the SEZ Act passed by the state government, the SEZ area will be a duty-free zone and will be considered a foreign territory for commercial activity, levying of duties and tariff. Besides, no license will be required for the import of any goods into the area. No Customs duty will be payable on the import of capital goods, raw material or spare parts.
Moreover, provisions of the Contract Labour Act, 1970, will not be applicable to units operating in the SEZs. The Shop and Commercial Establishments Act, 1962, will also not be applicable. According to the Act, the state government can declare all units located in the SEZs as public utilities and may delegate the powers of the labour commissioner to the development commissioner of the SEZ or to an officer specially appointed for this purpose.
Besides, the units in the SEZs can buy power from whichever source they desire. Captive power generation and co-generation will be allowed after permission from the Electricity Regulatory Commission. No electricity duty will be charged. The pricing will be free. The companies will be free to generate, transmit and distribute power. Third party sale will also be allowed.
