Telangana government looks to unblock SEZ land

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has stepped up efforts to unblock Special Economic Zone lands on the city outskirts for boosting development of the Information Technology sector and other industries. Though some SEZs have applied for de-notification, the Union ministry of commerce and industries has kept them pending for years blocking the judicious use of expensive lands spread over hundreds of acres, while in some other cases the NOC from state government for denotificaition is pending.

Similarly, SEZs allotted to Emaar Hills Township Pvt. Ltd, Brahmani Infotech Pvt. Ltd, Devbhumi Realtors Pvt. Ltd and Maytas Enterprises Ltd have not taken off so far. Following IT and realty boom on the city outskirts in the early 2000s, several companies had come forward to cash in by setting up SEZs. A majority of the SEZ applications were made between 2006 and 2009.

The previous UPA government’s liberal policy also prompted companies to make a beeline for setting up SEZs. “We have already initiated steps to resume the SEZ lands which are lying unused. The SEZs allotted on government lands which remain non-functional are being cancelled. There are some private SEZs which too are non-functional. However, the government has no role in initiating action against SEZs which exist on private lands,” said E.V. Narasimha Reddy, VC & MD, TS Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd.

The SEZs were permitted in all sectors, including IT/ITES, Formulation, Biotech, Hardware, Aerospace and Precision Engineering, Semi-conductor, Gems & Jewellery, Electronics (hardware & software), Pharmaceutical products and medical devices, Textile & Apparel, Agriculture & Livestock products and Light Engineering. However, a majority of the SEZs which are operational are in IT/ ITES sectors.