Govt does not want any SEZs, reiterates CM
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat has reiterated that the State government does not want any SEZs in Goa including the three already notified ones. The SEZ Board of Approval at the Centre gave a fresh lease of life to the developers by deciding to seek reply from them as to why their projects shouldn't be scrapped in the light of the concerns raised by the Goa government and citizens' groups. Goa's Movement Against SEZs delegation led by convenor Matanhy Saldanha met the chief minister at his Altinho residence to clarify the government stand in the matter. "He (Kamat) has assured us that the government will not allow any SEZs in Goa,' Saldanha told Herald. It may be recalled that despite a strong pro-SEZ lobby in the cabinet, the chief minister on December 31 had taken a decision to scrap all SEZ projects in Goa and subsequently the decision was conveyed to the Centre. Since then however, the Centre has deferred taking any decision on SEZs in Goa until two days ago when BoA decided to consult the Goa government on the issue. The former Cortalim MLA was critical of the BoA, saying it has contradicted the statement of Commerce Ministry that SEZs would not be imposed on the State and more so when the Government does not want it. Yesterday, GMAS had warned that it would be forced to launch second stage of its agitation if the State Government failed to get all SEZs, including the three notified ones, cancelled immediately. "If BoA takes any decision contrary to the will of the people, GMAS will be forced to construe that the former (Board) and the Union Commerce Ministry are involved in underhand dealings in connivance with the State Government to approve SEZs,' Saldanha declared. CONFUSION: There appears to be some confusion over the number of SEZs quoted by BoA. Union ministry of Commerce had approved seven SEZs for Goa till December 2007 of which three were notified. But BoA now says that show cause notices would be sent to 12 SEZs. Officials here too wonder whether the figure quoted by BoA is correct and if so which are the ones as no communication had been received by the state government pertaining to more than seven. The 8 additional proposals which were forwarded to the Centre anyway are scrapped.