Govt treading carefully on SEZ issue as BoA meets on Jan 22

New Delhi, Jan 21 (UNI) With growing opposition to the idea of setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) from farmers and disparate political parties, the Government is cautiously stepping ahead so as not to stir up any hornet's nest.

The empowered group of ministers (eGoM) on SEZs, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, which meets tomorrow after a five-month gap, will primarily look into land acquisition issues.

Since October, no new SEZ has been approved and the last two meetings of the Board of Approval (BoA) were cancelled due to angry protests over the land acquisition in West Bengal.

The BoA has so far approved final clearances to 237 projects and in-principle nod to another 160. More than half of these zones are in the IT sector.

At its meeting in August, the board had removed the limit on number of SEZs from 150. It had also decided to review the situation in next five months or when 75 SEZs become operational, whichever was earlier.

The government is considering imposition of sector-wise ceiling on SEZ once 100 SEZs are notified. So far, the Government has notified 63 SEZs.

According to ministry sources, preference will be given to land acquisition and rehabilitation of farmers in view of the political overtones of the issue.

Though Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath denied any "moratorium" on fresh approvals for SEZs, it is clear that the Centre has been forced to review carefully before giving clearances for new SEZs.

MORE UNI