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| Create single-window clearance for SEZs: Govt tells states |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi Feb 12, 2010, 00:37 IST |
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The commerce and industry ministry today asked the state governments to set up a single-window clearance system for speedy approvals of special economic zones (SEZ), even as the government granted formal approval to nine new proposals.
At a meeting of the Board of Approval (BoA), Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar directed the states to build the mechanism with immediate effect to facilitate greater exports and investments in to the country.
“We have told the state representatives to establish a single-window clearance at the state level so that each proposal is not dealt in a piecemeal manner and make businesses run from one corner to the next. I will also write to the chief secretaries requesting the same within a day or two,” Khullar told reporters after the meeting.
The move is aimed at facilitating speedy approvals of SEZs as the proposals tend to get delayed as developers and units have to obtain prior approvals from state governments for various operational, fiscal and financial issues.
“Before recommending any proposal, it is expected that the states have external infrastructure in place to support an SEZ. In today’s economic scenario, it is important to get the support from state government as that will lead to greater economic activity in SEZs wherever they are located,” said D K Mittal, additional secretary, commerce department.
Mittal also said while the government would not resort to penalising the states that would fail to follow the directive, the pace of setting up SEZs in that state would face a slowdown even if it received a formal approval from the Centre.
At the BoA meeting today, the government granted formal approval to nine new proposals, including a defence SEZ in Nellore, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai, Small World City Infrastructure and State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd, among others.
So far, a total of 579 SEZs have been approved, of which 335 have been notified and 101 are functional.
The industrial enclaves have attracted investment of over Rs 1.10 lakh crore and exports from the units during April-December 2009-10 stood at Rs 1,50,000 crore.
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