A clear cut SEZ policy on anvil: Prime Minister

New Delhi, Oct 7: Reacting to a spate of controversies, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today gave a categorical assurance that the government will clear the cobwebs in the policy relating to Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and said that a fresh look would be given to the act in this regard.

These remarks from the Prime Minister came when he agreed to take questions from the audience, following his address at the inaugural session of the official mega conference at Vijayan Bhavan, titled 'Building Infrastructure.' A number of questions relating to the controversy on SEZs came up and Dr Manmohan Singh asked Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath to reply to these. Both the Ministers were on the dias.

The two key Ministers said land acquisition was in the concurrent list and it was for the state governments to draw out a suitable policy in this regard. They said that for the purposes of SEZs, the acquired land must not be agricultural land but wasteland.

They said industry has always been acquiring land, but the issue came into prominence with regard to SEZs.

Mr Chidambaram said there were no differences between his Ministry and the Commerce Ministry on the subject as was being made out to bem, and added that SEZs have evoked great investor confidence.

The Prime Minister also said the government has yet to take a decision as to whether there will be a single regulator for the infrastructure sector or different regulators for different sectors.

UNI