TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: With the chief minister under fire for declaring that 30 per cent of land would be released to SEZ firms, Industries Minister Mahadev Naik on Friday declared in the house that the government has no plans to release the under litigation land given for SEZs as the matter is sub judice; a view echoed by the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Naik was replying to a question by Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco on whether the government had any plans to release the land given to SEZs which are under litigation, and if so, the steps the government proposes to take in the matter. Naik told the house that “there is no plan as yet, as the matter is sub judice and before the Supreme Court.”
As Reginaldo persisted with the matter, Parrikar intervened on the issue and said that they were contemplating on speaking to the promoters given that court cases take a long time to get resolved.
“If we want to fight in Supreme Court, it may take 10 years,” Parrikar opined.
He also told legislators that the issue had to be worked out. “When you compromise you will have to give and take,” he said promising to take the petitioners into confidence.
“Definitely I will take some people involved, into confidence…. The matter is before the court. I will take petitioners into confidence,” he said.
The chief minister had recently announced on the floor of the assembly that the government was in talks with the promoters in a bid to unlock the 35 lakh square metres of land currently under litigation.
“Government is currently in talks with the SEZ promoters for mutual understanding. If they agree, 30 percent of land would be reserved for promoters, provided they carry out projects as per government demand and requirement. These promoters have invested money and they are waiting, so we will provide some relief,” Parrikar had said while replying to the discussion on budget, wherein the government was criticized by the opposition claiming that government does not have land to promote Rs 25,000 crore investment.
“Who said we don’t have land. Government will use 70 percent of the SEZ land for industrial purpose,” he said.
As per that information the three SEZs notified as on December 5, 2013 are the 123.2-hectare biotech SEZ of Meditab Specialities in Keri-Ponda, a 107.17-hectare services SEZ of K Raheja Corp Pvt Ltd at Verna and a 20.36-hectare Biotech SEZ of Peninsula Pharma Research Centre Pvt Ltd at Sancoale.
Three promoters have challenged the government’s decision to cancel SEZ policy in 2008 before the Supreme Court.
After a humungous 38,40,886 square metres of land was allotted for SEZs by Goa Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in 2006, the state saw massive public protests in 2006-08. The Congress government responded by scrapping seven SEZs and withdrew the state SEZ policy. However, by then, three of the seven SEZs were already notified by the Union government and four were under process of being notified.
