Punjab seeks relaxation in area norms for SEZ

Punjab Government today demanded from the centre to relax the SEZ area norms for the state in view of the high  prices of land and its scarcity. "The centre should ease the area restrictions fixed for setting up a SEZ project for Punjab in the wake of soaring rates and scarcity of land," Punjab industry minister, Manoranjan Kalia told reporters here today. He said that the centre should allow the setting up of SEZ as per the viability of the project determined by the developer.
   
Kalia said that government of India's SEZ policy stipulates minimum land requirement of 10 hectares for IT project, 40 hectares for warehousing, 100 hectares for product specific and 1000 hectares for  multi-products SEZ projects. He further said that Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has also written to prime minister Manmohan Singh to relax such norms.
   
Even the UNIDO consultant Isher Judge Ahluwalia, who assisted in preparing Industrial Policy, had pointed out in its report that astronomical land prices in Punjab were turning out to be major obstruction in state's  industrial growth.
   
Punjab has at present 18 SEZ projects involving an investment of Rs10,181.90 crore. However, centre has notified only two projects of Quark City and Ranbaxy Laboratories worth Rs765 crore.