SEZs in North do not take off because of policy loopholes

Northern states do not provide the right environment to get the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) proposals formally approved or notified compared to states in the South, says a study.

The Centre has approved 10 SEZs in Punjab, out of which only two are notified. In Madhya Pradesh, 14 SEZs have been formally approved out of which only five are notified, said a report jointly released by consultancy firm PwC and industry body Assocham.

"The state governments in northern states are partly responsible for it as land acquisition in north has been consistently subject to intense controversies because of loopholes in their policies," Assocham President Sajjan Jindal said.

The report said that southern states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh have more number of notified Special Economic Zones (SEZs) because of their investor friendly land acquisition policies compared to states in North India.

"Investment friendly land acquisition policies of southern states have pushed them go far ahead in getting larger number of SEZs notified compared to northern states," it said.