Let us acquire SEZ land by force: Comrade VS’s un-comrade request

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.

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.”

The EGoM had, in its meeting on April 5 last year, clearly instructed the Board of Approval under the Department of Commerce not to consider SEZ cases where land was compulsorily acquired. Kerala’s request to exempt SEZ projects directly developed by the state or its agencies from any restrictions on land acquisition would require the EGoM to review its own decision.

Pitching for the relaxation, Achuthanandan said IT is one of the most important sectors for employment and economic development in Kerala and the industry has started moving out of the metros to Tier II and Tier III cities now. “While we are, to the extent possible, trying to obtain land through negotiated purchase, there are a few patches where the owners do not agree to sell their land and the government is left with no choice but to go for land acquisition for sake of contiguity, which is a necessity for obtaining SEZ,” he said.