Goa against SEZs in the people's interests

Panaji, Jul 17: Goa is ready to compensate the SEZ developers, whose land allotted by the state infrastructure development corporation with the government not in favour of SEZ's in the state on popular demand, GPCC President Francisco Sardinha said here today.

Talking to mediapersons, he said, Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had also indicated that the Centre would not ''thrust'' on States to go in for SEZs if they were against them.

If the developers were keen, they would be accommodated in states willing to have the SEZs other than in Goa, which favoured scrapping of the notified SEZs recently, he said quoting Kamal Nath.

Notably the Commerce Ministry secretary expressed his inability to scrap the already notified SEZs as demanded by Goa, which renewed its plead recently through a review petition to the Centre.

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat repeatedly said Goa was in favour of the SEZs as it would result in constraint on limited resources such as land, electricity and water.

The SEZ developers, who bought land from the state, had paid Rs 100 crore to the GIDC in installments as against Rs 150 crore and the state expressed its readiness to repay the money, if so directed by the courts.

UNI