The Central government has postponed the meeting of the Board of Approvals for the special economic zones that was scheduled for 19 January 2007.

While no fresh dates have been announced, the BoA meeting was postponed due to certain unavoidable circumstances. Any fresh approval to set up an SEZ will be given only after the government finalised the national rehabilitation policy. This policy is aimed at providing compensation and employment to families who would be displaced by the setting up of SEZs.

While, a Group of Ministers on SEZs is scheduled to meet on 22 January 2007 to consider a draft policy and the new dates for the BoA meeting may be decided thereafter.

As many as 52 SEZ proposals were to be taken up at the meeting of 19 January 2007. These included 10 from West Bengal where agitations against land acquisition by Indonesia's Salim group are going on in Nandigram and against Tata's car project in Singur. The rehabilitation policy is likely to include provisions whereby developers of SEZ acquiring large land bank would have to file a Social Impact Assessment Report with the government.

Also See:

BoA defers more than 150 SEZ proposals (04-Nov-06)