24.8.08

More SEZs in Maharashtra


Even as more than half a dozen multicrore special economic zones remain locked in agitations involving the acquisition of land in the coastal Konkan region, the high-level board of approval headed by Union commerce secretary G K Pillai cleared nine SEZs in Maharashtra.They will require a total of nearly 6,000 hectares of land, attract investment of Rs 20,000 crore,and generate 3.5 lakh jobs.“The entire 6,000 hectares of land will not have to be acquired, since the state-run industrial development corporation is already in possession of part of the land. Certainly, for the remaining land, we are facing an uphill task in view of the strong opposition from farmers,’’ a senior industries department official said. The official said that in view of the farmers’ response, it was high time the board of approval and entrepreneurs first examined the availability of land and only then cleared projects. Among the SEZs cleared were the Cavalcade IT SEZ, Skyzone IT SEZ, D S Kulkarni multiproduct SEZ and Bharat Forge multiproduct SEZ (all in Pune), Rameshwar Vaibhav SEZ (Raigad), Sun Infrastructure IT SEZ (Nashik), JSW port-based SEZ (Ratnagiri), MIDC engineering SEZ (Satara), and Essel multipurpose SEZ in Gorai (Mumbai). L&T’s IT SEZ in Powai has been held up on account of a minor deficiency. For an IT SEZ, the minimum land requirement is 25 acres, and L&T’s proposed project is short by 0.7 acres. Investment in the project will be Rs 720 crore. It is expected to create 14,000 jobs, and have an export potential of Rs 8,000 crore. “L&T has written to the Centre it is in the process of acquiring the remaining 0.7 acres of land. So far, they have not submitted any specific undertaking for the purpose. Once it submits the letter, we will quickly forward it for approval,’’ the official said. Bharat Forge’s proposal said, SEZ will require 1,200 hectares of land, attract an investment of Rs 5,000 crore, and create 15,000 jobs. Rameshvar Vaibhav will require 2,000 hectares of land, an investment of Rs 13,380 crore and is expected to create 1.5 lakh jobs. Essel Infrastructure’s Gorai project will require 100 hectares of land and an investment of Rs 807 crore, and will generate 1.5 lakh jobs. Essel, which owns land in Gorai, will not require government or private land. It claims its export potential will be nearly Rs 20,000 crore. Cavalcade Properties’ SEZ in Pune requires ten hectares of land, and investment worth nearly Rs 307 crore. It is expected to create 20,000 jobs.

Konkan: 48%

Western region: 34%

Marathwada: 11%

Vidarbha: 7%

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