Faulty policy leading to regional imbalance : Sen

Kolkata, Aug 30 (UNI) Criticising the Centre for pursuing a policy leading to uneven regional development, West Bengal Industry Minister Nirupam Sen today called for proper utilisation of land in Special Export Processing Zones and a rational approach in tax concession for foreign direct investment.

'' A new kind of land lordism has emerged as the existing policy permits only 25 per cent of the area of an SEZ to be used for setting up units leaving vast tracts of land for building shopping malls, hotels and restaurants, '' Mr Sen said while speaking at an interactive session with the members of Merchants Chamber of Commerce.

He said there was also uneven competition between the units within SEZs and those outside leading to an imbalance.

Referring to the Central scheme for tax concession for FDI projects in select states, Mr Sen said this had led investors to go for certain destinations leaving in the lurch the others.

'' Despite having state sponsored incentive schemes, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are not getting FDI, while there is a rush of foreign investors in states like Uttaranchal and Gujarat because they are covered by the Centre's scheme. I wonder why this scheme should not be applicable also in North Bengal, '' he said.

Besides, absence of a national mineral policy was depriving entrepreneurs from the freedom of selecting their project sites as the iron ore reserve states were not willing to supply iron ore to other states, Mr Sen said.

Reiterating that the Left parties were determined not to allow FDI in retail sector, Mr Sen, also a CPI(M) Central Committee member, said the move was being opposed also by chambers of merchants and businessmen.

'' It is said by some quarters that the left alone is blocking the entire reforms process. But we are not against reforms, nor are we opposed to FDI. But we have certain reservations in some areas learing from the experience of countries like Indonesia and Thailand, '' he said.

Denying the allegation of the Opposition parties that the Left Front government was forcibly acquiring agricultural land for setting up of industries, Mr Sen said most of the entrepreneurs were buying land directly from owners.

He also said so far there had not been a single case of eviction in the drive for acquiring land.

'' It is absolutely wrong that the Government is forcibly acquiring land. The major part of the total investment in the state is in the small and medium sector which requires small amount of land and the entrepreneurs are buying plots directly from private owners, '' he said.

It was only the cases of large projects that the Government had to acquire land that too by giving adequate compensation to the owners at prices much higher than the market, the Minister said.

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