Developers of Goa SEZs get Centres notices
The Goa Government had asked the Centre to scrap all SEZs in the state, after several public protest. Even though the cloud of uncertainty lingering over Special Economic Zones in Goa will take some more time to clear, the SEZ Board of Approvals that met on Monday decided to issue showcause notices to the developers of 12 zones that had already received in-principle and formal approvals from the Board. The Goa Government had asked the Centre to scrap all SEZs in the state, after several public protests rocked the state recently. While approved SEZ developers will be asked why their projects shouldn't be scrapped in the light of the concerns raised by the state Government, the three SEZs in the state already notified by the Centre will remain in limbo a tad longer. The Commerce Ministry had asked the Law Ministry to advise whether the SEZ Act, 2005, gave any provision to cancel notified zones. "While the Law Ministry has said it is possible to cancel notified zones, compensation will have to be worked out for developers if their notifications are withdrawn,' an official said. The Centre is still hoping to salvage the three notified zones that include a pharma SEZ being set up by Cipla. "The Union Government will separately initiate discussions with the Goa Government on the fate of three already notified SEZs,' said Commerce Secretary and head of the Board of Approvals, G K Pillai after the Board's meeting. Meanwhile, of the 17 SEZ proposals before the Board on Monday, 10 have been granted formal approval, including two SEZs each in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. Three of the SEZs cleared are in IT sector