The Centre on Wednesday announced changes in rules and made developers solely responsible for rehabilitation of displaced persons.
NEW DELHI: With SEZs becoming a political hot potato after killings in Nandigram police firing, the Centre on Wednesday announced changes in rules and made developers solely responsible for rehabilitation of displaced persons.
"The developer shall make adequate provision for rehabilitation of the displaced persons as per the relief and rehabilitation policy of the state government," a Commerce Ministry notification said.
The sudden change in rules by the Commerce Ministry, the nodal agency for approving SEZs, has even preceded the finalisation of the rehabilitation policy being worked out by the Ministry of Rural Development.
The announcement comes on a day when leaders of UPA as well as Left parties are meeting at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence.
Further, in a tightening measure to check speculation by real estate players, the validity for 'in-principle' approval has been reduced from three years to one year.
However, the validity for formal approval remains three years because land possession is essential for getting the final nod from Board of Approval in the commerce ministry.
The developer will have to show it possesses irrevocable rights over land.
The government has also made meeting environmental requirements mandatory for SEZ developers.
Besides, the SEZ applicant has to furnish full details of Foreign Direct Investment and its source. Also, the applicant will have to give the details of group's net worth.
This has been done to ensure that only companies capable of setting up such projects come forward with their proposals.
However, as a relief measure, the government has allowed extension of tax benefits to the contractors working for the developers.
Earlier, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had in the budget for 2007-08 proposed to remove concessions to contractors, but commerce ministry officials said today's decision has been taken after consultations with the finance ministry.
It has also allowed SEZs to expand on contagious vacant land after prior permission of the Board of Approvals.
The Board has so far given final approval to 237 SEZs, and in-principle nod to another 166. However, no new approvals have been given in the past few months after the Empowered Group of Ministers decided to put fresh clearances on hold following the controversy over land acquisition in various parts of the country.
Meanwhile, Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movement (ICCFM) on Wednesday condemned the police atrocities at Nandigram and demanded withdrawal of the SEZ Act 2005.
The farmers' body opposed acquisition of agricultural land for special economic zone.
The Delhi-based organisation said acquisition should not take place without taking the affected people into confidence.
Terming the SEZ Act 2005 as a document of undemocratic industrialisation, the body said it was being used by big companies to take over fertile land at low cost.
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