BoA meet to decide Navi Mumbai SEZ’s fate

MUMBAI/DELHI: The Centre has set June 20 as the deadline for the Maharashtra government to spell out its stand on the finance ministry’s reservations over the proposed Navi Mumbai SEZ. Maharashtra chief secretary Johny Joseph is holding consultations with some of the stake-holders in the Navi Mumbai SEZ. “Discussions are being held with inhabitants of the five villages falling within the proposed zone and also with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which has staked claim to some of the land in the zone,” commerce ministry officials told ET.

A spokesman for Navi Mumbai SEZ — the firm setting up the SEZ — refused to comment.The Centre wants the Maharashtra government to give point-by-point reply to the concerns voiced by the finance ministry in its report submitted recently. “The s tate government’s views will be discussed in the Board of Approval (BoA) meeting scheduled for June 22,” said a commerce ministry official.

A team headed by Sanjeev Behari, commissioner-customs & exports, visited some of the Navi Mumbai SEZ areas on May 21 to assess the ground situation.

The central team’s report has resulted in the BoA deferring its decision to clear the Navi Mumbai SEZ twice in the past. The BoA has also raised the issue of land contiguity which relates to a major road cutting across the SEZ site.

The Navi Mumbai SEZ, however, doesn’t have land-acquisition related issues as the state-run agency Cidco has already acquired the land for the project.