Empowered group to meet next week to discuss SEZ issue

CHENNAI: An empowered Group of Ministers, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, would meet next week to discuss issues on Special Economic Zones and relaxation norms for such SEZs, Union IT and Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran said here on Friday.

Maran, also a part of the eGOM, was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of the joint venture between Reliable Freight Forwarders Pvt Ltd with Hong Kong based Kerry Logistics.

Maran was hopeful that SEZs which have been approved, in Tamil Nadu but were put on hold due to the controversy over land acquisition for the SEZS in various states, would be given the go-ahead as most of the SEZs in the state was being
set up on Small Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) land.

Maran also pointed out that companies, which had evinced interest in setting up their units in these SEZs, were upset at the delay."We are the ones who will suffer as we have been successful with SEZs. Also we have no issues with land here."

He said there were about 20 SEZs in the state and most of them could not progress on the work due to this, he said.

"In any case most of the land for our SEZs belong to SIPCOT," he said.