The immediate collateral damage of the Left’s decision to withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government could be its own unlikely reformist.

A radical land acquisition proposal by the Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, who is otherwise known for stone-walling reforms, is stuck because of the political turmoil.

Achuthanandan has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to let his state compulsorily acquire land for setting up information technology special economic zones (IT-SEZs). Officials in the department of commerce told The Indian Express that the Kerala request would set a precedent for other states to make similar demands.

The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) which was to decide on the request, scheduled for a meeting this week, was postponed. Given the ramifications of compulsory land acquisition and the changed political scenario, the EGoM would not take a decision in haste, officials in the Department of Commerce said.

In an April 4 letter to the PM, Achuthanandan pointed out that the commerce and industry ministries’ decision not to approve SEZs if even one individual’s land was compulsorily acquired post April 4, 2007, had serious implications for the growth of the IT industry in Kerala.

Since little government land was available, most big projects including Technopark expansion in Thiruvanthapuram (100 acres) and Kozhikode IT Park (78 acres) were stuck since they involved land acquisition, he said.

The Kerala CM, hence, wanted the Centre to be liberal in allowing compulsory land acquisition. He proposed states be given a free hand if 30 per cent of the total SEZ area was procured by the developer. He said, “The restriction of acquired land should not apply when the SEZ is proposed to be directly developed by the state or its agency.”

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