RIL SEiZed with land purchase on cap talks

GURGAON: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) is on an aggressive land acquisition spree for its Haryana multi-product SEZ project amidst speculation in the policy corridors that land acquisitions for SEZs may be capped at 10,000 acres. According to sources, the country’s biggest corporate house has acquired close to 8,000 acres for Rs 1,600 crore.

However, if the government goes ahead with the policy, it will only be with prospective effect and, in all likelihood, the company would not be asked to sell off part of the acquired chunk of land, said sources. Perhaps this is one reason why RIL may have expedited the land acquisition process.

As of now, RIL is buying 60-70 acres of land from farmers everyday at an average price of Rs 20 lakh per acre. At this rate, RIL would be able to cross the 10,000-acre mark in less than two months.

When contacted by ET, a Haryana government spokesperson said, “It’s too early to comment on the issue. We will have to wait for the actual policy directives.” RIL spokesperson declined comment.

However, some industry sources feel that if the new policy is implemented mid-way, early movers such as RIL in Haryana and Unitech in West Bengal would have an unfair advantage.

“To ensure a level playing field, the policy should have prospective as well as retrospective effect. If a company already has more land than notified in the cap, it should be asked to divest,” a Delhi-based promoter of a well-known real estate and infrastructure company pointed out.

For its 25,000-acre multi-product SEZ project, RIL needs to buy 75% of the land on its own which works out to 17,500 acre. In keeping with the SEZ policy, the government would release its share of the remaining land only when RIL completes its acquisition or if the company is facing difficulty in buying land.

Meanwhile, the company has also floated a special purpose vehicle, Reliance Haryana SEZ, for the project in which the state government’s HSIIDC has 10% sweat equity.

RIL’s Rs 25,000-crore SEZ project aims at creating five lakh jobs in the state and is pegged to be a hub for manufacturing, services and agri-based industries. The project also has provisions for a cargo airport and a 2,000-mw power plant.