Punjab, Haryana tweak SEZ policy

CHANDIGARH: Nandigram and Singur are far away, but the nascent government in Punjab and the well dug-in Haryana administration are not taking any chances. Between the two, they have around 70 SEZ projects coming up, and the two governments are revamping their land acquirement and farmer compensation policies.

According to Manpreet Badal, Punjab’s new finance minister, the state will soon introduce a 3% displacement allowance (on the price of the land) as compensation for farmers whose land have been acquired for setting up industrial units. This of course would be excess to price paid for the land.

The Punjab government has also announced that a special committee would be set up to examine the issue of land acquisition. This would include the district commissioner, the legislator of the region and the chairman of the district board. “Nobody is against industrial development, but the farmer has to be given his due. Yes, we are keen on new industries coming in the state, but these arrivals should be not at the cost of farmers,” Mr Badal told ET.

His counterpart in Haryana, Birendra Singh, is toeing the same line. “Ever since the UPA chairperson expressed her concerns regarding the setting up of SEZs during the Nainital conclave, there has been a perceptible change in the way states approach these projects. A large number of SEZs have been approved in Haryana, but then most of them are still on the drawing board. Let us see how many of them will take off. Also, in terms of approval of the projects, you will see that the future decision would be backed by a greater degree of political consensus.”

The Haryana government, which had earlier set minimum compensation rates for acquisition of land, has now decided to increase these limits.

For example, the minimum rate for acquiring an one-acre plot in Gurgaon was Rs 26 lakh (including interest as compared to Rs 19.50 lakh) earlier. The rate for other parts of Haryana lying in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Panchkula have been increased from Rs 16.25 lakh per acre to Rs 20.80 lakh per acre. The minimum rate in the remaining districts of the state has also been hiked from Rs 6.5 lakh per acre to Rs 10.40 lakh per acre.

Several industrial projects in Punjab and Haryana have run into controversies because of land issues. The DLF SEZ project in Amritsar and the Reliance SEZ project in Jhajjar district of Haryana being two prime examples.