The new twist in the Goa SEZ battle

The new twist in the Goa SEZ battle sees a case of odd politics: the Congress government in Goa is now at loggerheads with the Congress-led UPA at the Centre.

Just days after Goa CM Digambar Kamat announced his decision to scrap the projected 15 SEZs in the state, the Commerce Ministry has refused to denotify the three SEZs that had been notified earlier in Goa.

In mid-December 2007, the BJP had threatened to pull the plug on Goa’s new year revelry had the government pressed ahead with its SEZ plans. Kamat’s government had seemingly caved under the pressure and had declared the SEZs would be scrapped.

But Commerce Secretary G K Pillai has said that the Board of Approvals – the nodal agency for SEZs – will not denotify the three Special Economic Zones, and even added that SEZ rules are exempt from state governments’ meddling.

“As far as we are concerned, they (the Board of Approvals) have notified SEZs,” said Pillai.

The Commerce Ministry further contends that the state government were never the issuing authorities for notification and hence, they do not have the right or the authority to denotify SEZs.

“No, there is no provision under law for state government to recommend denotification,” he responded to a query on the state government’s stance.

“We at the Board will not denotify the SEZs, either,” he stated, firmly.

The Commerce Ministry’s contention is that once SEZs are notified, they actually become legal entities, and when that happens, under the rules, they cannot be denotified.

But despite the statement made by the Commerce Secretary, the Goa Chief Minister remained completely unfazed.

Courtesy:ibnlive.com
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