Left parties criticise eGOM recommendations on SEZs

New Delhi, Apr 6 (UNI) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has strongly criticised the recommendations of the Empowered Group of Ministers (eGOM) on the Special Economic Zones (SEZs), terming them ''totally inadequate and falling far short of what is required.'' In a statement issued here today, the party Polit Bureau said the first and foremost issue of ''exorbitant and unjustified tax concessions'' have been kept intact by the eGOM. ''The Government will lose tens of thousands of crores of rupees in revenue. This iniquitous tax bonanza was one of the basic problems with the SEZ Act and Rules,'' it said, adding that without revising these tax concessions, the SEZ concept will not find acceptance.

The party said that the eGOM has not looked at the proliferation of SEZs. ''There is an urgent need to review the tpe of industries to be set up in SEZs and apply sectorwise caps on SEZs. Moreover, the allowance of maximum of 5000 hectares (12500 hectares or 2500 acres for the multi product SEZs) has also not been lowered, it said.

The CPI(M) is of the firm view that a multi-product SEZ should have a minimum size specified of only 400 hectares (1000 acres) and there should be a ceiling of 2000 hectares (5000 acres).

The party also said it did not agree with the stipulation of the State Government not being involved in acquisition of land, particularly for those of a larger size. ''Allowing corporates to buy large tracts of land for SEZs will put small farmers, tenants and agricultural workers at the mercy of land sharks.

Moreover, private entities would be able to own, rather than lease, thousands of acres of land subverting Land Ceiling actsas well as Town Planning Laws,'' it said.

Meanwhile, the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) has also condemned the eGOM recommendations on SEZ and said that it would basically benefit the multinational companies (MNCs) and the Indian corporate houses while immensely damaging the cause of the millions of poor farmers and seriously affecting the food security of the conry.

UNI