The Government has finalised the rules for the special economic zones by prescribing a ceiling on the size at 5,000 ha for multi-product SEZs and increasing the processing area from 35 per cent to 50 per cent for both multi-product and sector-specific zones.

Fixing of the upper ceiling of 5,000 ha and raising the processing area uniformly will also allay any apprehensions about possible misuse of land for purposes other than the prime one of setting up manufacturing activities, generating exports and creating dedicated infrastructure amenities within these enclaves. The government has also given states the freedom to fix a lower ceiling on the size of the SEZ and said that there will not be any compulsory acquisition of land for SEZs.

The government also gave nod to notification for 83 applications that were formally approved. Out of the 83 applications of formal approvals that will be notified, 54 have been cleared by the Law Ministry; the others are in the process of getting notified.

The major SEZs whose notifications are pending include Brandix Textiles City at Visakhapatnam, Kakinada SEZ at Kakinada, Infosys SEZ at Pune, Ascendas's ITPL SEZ at Bangalore, Jindal Stainless Steel SEZ at Kalinga Nagar (Orissa), Lotus Footwear SEZ at Cheyyar, Suzlon Infrastructure SEZ at Coimbatore and Wockhardt Pharma SEZ at Aurangabad.

Also See:

All SEZ proposals put on hold (18-Jan-07)