Employment option in SEZ rehabilitation

NEW DELHI: Families displaced by special economic zones (SEZs) and other industrial projects will have assured employment for at least one person from every family.

The new rules being framed for resettling and rehabilitating people affected by industrial projects will make it
mandatory for developers to provide employment to the ones they displace, minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh said.

In a written reply to a Rajya Sabha Parliament question, Mr Ramesh said that the rural development ministry working on a resettlement and rehabilitation policy would ensure livelihood for project oustees. The minister ruled out the possibility of reviewing the formal approvals granted to SEZ developers so far. “Of the 234 approvals granted so far, none of the SEZs has an area over 5,000 hectares,” the minister said. The upper limit for SEZs has been fixed at 5,000 hectares with the provision that states may prescribe a lower limit. It has also been decided that states would not undertake any compulsory acquisition of land for SEZs approved after April 5 2007.

The extent of land involved in approved SEZs is about 33,808 hectare and it is already with the state
governments, state industrial cooperations and private developers.