Panel seeks review of SEZ Act

A high level panel set up by the Rural Development Ministry in its report has called on the government to ‘revisit’ its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act and put a ban on transfer of common property and agricultural land for its implementation.
 
The Committee set up in 2007, has in its report submitted on State Agrarian Relations and the Unfinished Task in Land Reforms has noted that the concerns of tribals and farmers remained ‘totally unattended’ under the Act as there was no cost-benefit analysis for such projects and an absence of an upper limit fixed for land acquisition.
 
The report was submitted through the ministry to the National Land Reforms Council, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
 
The committee  noted that the status of ‘deemed foreign territory’ to SEZs stands to undermine the institutions set up under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, as also the rights of individual citizens.
 
SEZ with their status as industrial townships have been allowed by state governments to function as self-governing, autonomous municipal bodies under the Act. Once this is so, it will cease to be under the jurisdiction of any other local body, like the municipal corporation and gram panchayat. The SEZ developer and units would also be exempted from taxes levied by the local bodies because it is a self contained body, it added.
 
The committee also noted that concentration of powers in the hands of development commissioners at the state level and board of approavals in the Centre, “ is greatly going to challenge the local governance” under the Act. 
 
Building of a physical boundary around the SEZ only meant it would be difficult for any individual or civil society to enter the area without prior approval of the development commissioner.  Raising environmental and ecological concerns, the committee has also observed that there was no mention of the role of the pollution control board and coastal regulation related provisions under the SEZ Act and rules.