Maharashtra won't reduce Maha Mumbai SEZ size

NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra government has turned down the Centre's proposal to scale down the size of Reliance Industries' Maha Mumbai Special Economic Zone, even as the ruling Congress in the state has warned of a flare-up like Nandigram in West Bengal.

"The Centre has received the reply from Maharashtra government stating it was not possible to reverse the decision of state Cabinet which had approved the size of the SEZ," an official source said.

The Centre had written a letter to Maharashtra government suggesting that it should reduce the size of the SEZ coming up in Raigad district from 10,000 hectares to 5,000 hectares, which it said should be sufficient.

As per the rules, a multi-product SEZ must be spread over a minimum area of 1,000 hectares but there is no upper limit.

After protests in West Bengal, even the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded there should be a limit to area that an SEZ can occupy.

A fact-finding panel by Maharashtra Congress had in a report warned of farmers' unrest brewing in Raigad, where large-scale land acquisition was in progress by Reliance.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had earlier said: "First the buyers will have to strike a deal with the sellers... and then the issue will come up before the Cabinet Sub-Committee.

It's only after the Committee gives the go ahead the land will be acquired."

However, as per the reply sent to the Centre, state government has stuck to its stand of allowing 10,000 hectares to Maha Mumbai SEZ.