States to prevent use of productive land for SEZs

NEW DELHI: Commerce & industry minister Kamal Nath has assured farmers that the Centre will approve special economic zone (SEZ) proposals only when they are backed with a certificate issued by the state government concerned specifying that agricultural land above the stipulated 10% will not be used for the project.

Speaking to farmers on the sidelines of the `Agriculture summit’ organised by the ministry of agriculture and Ficci, Mr Nath said that adequate precautions are being taken to ensure that productive land is not used for building SEZs. “We have asked state governments to certify that the land being acquired by SEZ developers is not agricultural land,” he said.

Earlier, speaking at the summit, agriculture secretary Radha Singh said the Centre will not bring in a separate legislation to speed up the clearance process for exports of perishable farm goods (as was being initially planned) and instead amend the existing APEDA Act for the purpose. This was being done as it is much easier to bring in an amendment than pass a legislation, she added.

“At present, more than 17 clearances are needed before a consignment of goods leaves Indian shores for overseas market. The amendment of the APEDA Act would bring in a single-window clearance system for all the approvals,” she said. The amendment will be soon placed before the Union Cabinet for clearance following which it will be introduced in Parliament. The approvals of customs and other agencies would still be required for perishable goods.