Social welfare? Some SEZs not bothered
Some SEZ developers, especially in the IT sectors, are not keen to build accommodations for workers.
By Amiti Sen, TNN |
CHENNAI: The controversy over possible land scams in special economic zones (SEZs) notwithstanding, the government is now grappling with a problem totally opposite in nature. A number of SEZ developers, especially in the IT and ITeS sectors, are not showing any interest in building residential accommodation and related infrastructure for their workers. This could lead to serious logistical problems in the years to come.
The trouble is that while the Centre has a legislation in place to check the creation of excessive social infrastructure, there is no law making it mandatory for developers to build houses and schools in SEZs.
The Nokia and Flextronics SEZs near Sriperumbudur started production earlier this year and between them employ about 6,000 men and women. The number of employees is expected to be about 20,000 in the next four years. But, both the companies have no plans of providing houses, schools or hospitals for their employees.
Nokia India operations director Jukka Lehtela, in-charge of the Nokia Telecom SEZ in Sriperumbudur, is apprehensive that there might be a big transportation problem in the future, but is clear that building houses is not on the company's agenda. "We are into manufacturing of phones. Building houses is not our forte," Mr Lehtela said.
He, however, is hopeful that either the government or private players will do the needful. With a number of other SEZs coming up in this stretch, Mr Lehtela fears that if something is not done about housing soon, the entire highway stretch connecting Chennai with Sriperumbudur will be jammed with buses transporting SEZ employees. The same apprehensions are reflected in the neighbourhood Flextronics SEZ which gained SEZ status in April this year. While it has already employed more than 2,000 workers, it doesn't have any immediate plans of building houses. "Let us see how things shape up in the years to come," said Flextronics Technologies GM, India operations, Gururaj A.
Giving the entire issue a political touch, ETL Infrastructure Services MD S Thiagarajan, who has developed an ITeS SEZ in Pallikaranai village near Chennai, said, "There is so much controversy about the possible misuse and land scam that I do not want to get into social infrastructure. I am sure that private builders will find it lucrative to build houses around our SEZ," he said.
The export promotion council for export-oriented units and SEZs, which feels that there is a need for the government to step in and take some action, has not yet taken up the issue in a big way with the commerce department. “The commerce department is aware of the problem. It is yet to be decided how it is to be dealt with," an official said.
The trouble is that while the Centre has a legislation in place to check the creation of excessive social infrastructure, there is no law making it mandatory for developers to build houses and schools in SEZs.
The Nokia and Flextronics SEZs near Sriperumbudur started production earlier this year and between them employ about 6,000 men and women. The number of employees is expected to be about 20,000 in the next four years. But, both the companies have no plans of providing houses, schools or hospitals for their employees.
Nokia India operations director Jukka Lehtela, in-charge of the Nokia Telecom SEZ in Sriperumbudur, is apprehensive that there might be a big transportation problem in the future, but is clear that building houses is not on the company's agenda. "We are into manufacturing of phones. Building houses is not our forte," Mr Lehtela said.
He, however, is hopeful that either the government or private players will do the needful. With a number of other SEZs coming up in this stretch, Mr Lehtela fears that if something is not done about housing soon, the entire highway stretch connecting Chennai with Sriperumbudur will be jammed with buses transporting SEZ employees. The same apprehensions are reflected in the neighbourhood Flextronics SEZ which gained SEZ status in April this year. While it has already employed more than 2,000 workers, it doesn't have any immediate plans of building houses. "Let us see how things shape up in the years to come," said Flextronics Technologies GM, India operations, Gururaj A.
Giving the entire issue a political touch, ETL Infrastructure Services MD S Thiagarajan, who has developed an ITeS SEZ in Pallikaranai village near Chennai, said, "There is so much controversy about the possible misuse and land scam that I do not want to get into social infrastructure. I am sure that private builders will find it lucrative to build houses around our SEZ," he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The export promotion council for export-oriented units and SEZs, which feels that there is a need for the government to step in and take some action, has not yet taken up the issue in a big way with the commerce department. “The commerce department is aware of the problem. It is yet to be decided how it is to be dealt with," an official said.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
