Centre approves 33 SEZs
# 17 IT, IT-enabled Services projects cleared
# GMR Hyderabad airport to become a cargo hub
NEW DELHI: The Central Government on Tuesday granted formal approval to 24 special economic zones (SEZs) and gave in-principle nod to nine SEZs. It also cleared in-principle approvals of two SEZs, including the controversial 440-hectare Reliance Haryana SEZ in Gurgaon, for formal approval.
The Board of Approval (BoA) for SEZs at its meeting considered 42 new applications. It gave final clearance to 17 IT and IT-enabled service SEZs, while two handicraft and artisan SEZs were also okayed. SEZs of gem and jewellery (in Mumbai), multi-product (Nashik, Maharashtra), electronic hardware (Tamil Nadu) and agro-processing (Akola, Maharashtra) were cleared.
The BoA also gave formal approval to the 101.2-hectare airport-based SEZ at the greenfield GMR Hyderabad International Airport project in Andhra Pradesh.
The multi-product SEZ will become a cargo hub for airlines.
Similarly, the 1,023.43-hectare multi-product SEZ of Indiabulls Industrial Infrastructure Limited at Nashik in Maharashtra and an electronic hardware SEZ spread in 140.69 hectares in Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu were cleared.
While five new IT and ITES SEZs will come up in Andhra Pradesh, four each in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, two in Madhya Pradesh and one in Karnataka were cleared.
The BoA also gave in-principle approval to Reliance-promoted 2,850-hectare port-based multi-product SEZ at Rewas in Raigarh district of Maharashtra. In-principal approvals were given to a multi-product SEZs at Thane, a multi-services SEZ at Nashik, a gem and jewellery SEZ at Nanded, an engineering sector SEZ at Satara, and leather SEZ at Osmanabad, all in Maharashtra. While a steel sector SEZ in Durgapur and a textile SEZ at Dankuni, both in West Bengal, were cleared.
Similarly, an alternative energy equipment SEZ was cleared at Amreli in Gujarat.
However, the BoA deferred three proposals in Uttar Pradesh, all related to IT SEZ, following requests from the new Government in the State. The BoA also did not take any decision on the controversial Navi Mumbai SEZ as the views from the promoters (Reliance and its associates) and the State Government are still awaited.
source The Hindu
