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Tamil Nadu government has asked the Centre to relax norms for National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs).
The Government of Tamil Nadu has been proposing to create three new manufacturing zones at Vilathikulam in Thoothukudi District (5,780 acres), Katrambakkam in Vellore District (2,150 acres) and Hosur in Krishnagiri District (2,300 acres) having hi-tech common infrastructure facilities. The zones will be spread in over 10,000 acres of land.
According to the existing norms, a minimum area of 5,000 hectares (12,500 acres) is required for setting up NIMZ, which would be a hindrance for the State to develop the zones in the currently identified area.
"It is very difficult to find such large stretches contiguously in States like Tamil Nadu. Hence, the Government of India may relax the area norms and approve the NIMZs as proposed by the government of Tamil Nadu," the state government said in its Memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The non-availability of large land parcels has been raised by state governments and experts earlier too. Former Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry E M Sudarsana Natchiappan, in January this year when he was holding the post, said that the government is looking into the issue. He had said then that the the Karnataka govt has already come forward with a proposal to offer 5,000 acres in different locations in Karnataka and German investors are expected to set up operations there. He then stated that the Andhra Pradesh government has also came forward to offer space for the industrial area.
The NIMZs, which are important part of the previous government's National Manufacturing Policy, are envisaged as integrated industrial townships with state of the art infrastructure; land use on the basis of zoning; clean and energy efficient technology; necessary social infrastructure; skill development facilities etc. to provide a productive environment for persons transitioning from the primary to the secondary and tertiary sectors.
