One gone,Pune has 44 SEZs in its kitty

There are 54 SEZs in the final notified stage across the state. Pune accounts for 28 per cent with 15 SEZs in its kitty — all in the IT sector — and they together project an employment potential of over 45 lakh hands. Joint director of industries Shekar Naik said all the 15 SEZs are in their final stage,where some have even started hiring people.

The earlier two stages of approval are ‘in-principle’ and ‘formal’ and Pune has five proposed SEZs in the first category,including Videocon,while 25 are in the formal stage of approval. In other words,there are 44 SEZs at various stages of finalisation,after the Videocon SEZ got scrapped. This means Pune accounts for over 30 per cent footprint of SEZs in Maharashtra.

Out of the 146 SEZs proposed in the state,36 are in the ‘in-principle’ stage,56 in the ‘formal’ stage and 54 in the notified stage,said Naik. Among those in the first category in Pune,Mahindra Realty Developers is looking at a multi-product SEZ in Karla,while the remaining are in the engineering and IT sectors. The preliminary stage has investment proposals worth Rs 2,942 crore spread across 1,219 hectares in the district. The 25 SEZs in the district that are in the formal stage of implementation have projected an aggregate investment of Rs 38,739 crore spanning 2,133 hectares.

Even as the Videocon SEZ has bit the dust because of opposition from the farmers in Wagholi and nearby villages,not too far away in Chakan the Bharat Forge SEZ has connected well with the villagers. “The rehabilitation model implemented in the Bharat Forge has been included in the land acquisition policy of the state,” said deputy collector MIDC Gajanan Patil.

Patil said the acquisition process was very smooth and nearly Rs 213 crore has already been disbursed in the first phase of rehabilitation. “Employment generation and even buy-back policy has been implemented which will be replicated in the remaining phases,” said Patil.