The Hindu : Front Page : Buddhadeb for re-look at SEZ policy

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Thursday, Dec 20, 2007
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Buddhadeb for re-look at SEZ policy

Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI: Chief Ministers from different States made a pitch for giving an impetus to agricultural activity during the meeting of the National Development Council here on Wednesday. They also demanded allocation of extra funds by the Planning Commission for the weaker sections, action on the issue of farm debts and an enhanced share in the Central taxes.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was critical of the actions of Union Ministers and their constant criticism of the Bihar government. “It does not behove that in an established federal structure like ours, Union Ministers use Central resources and its fora for carrying out criticism and campaign against a duly elected State Government.”

He said State-specific agricultural plans were underway, and the overall climate for investment had improved.

Faced with flak over the Nandigram episode, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said a “fresh look” should be taken by the Centre at its special economic zones (SEZ) policy, which should be restricted to select industries. He wanted the Centre to fix a land ceiling for different types of SEZs and work out the percentage of land area to be compulsorily utilised for industries within that limit.

“The scheme for SEZs requires a fresh look. Industry groups, which are to be covered under the scheme, should be identified in the first instance, instead of extending it to all and sundry.”

Land ceiling

Mr. Bhattacharjee was of the view that since the minimum land requirement had been prescribed, there should be an upper ceiling as well for a particular type of SEZ. “The Central government has already fixed a land ceiling of 5,000 hectare for multi-product SEZs following mass protests by farmers in States.”

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda drew the attention of the Central government towards the issue of tax incentives to hill States, and urged it to rectify this. Haryana had been suffering substantial revenue loss due to the granting of excise duty and income tax benefits to industrial units in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttranchal.

Mr. Hooda said in order to strengthen the financial position of the States, their share of service tax should be enhanced or they should be allowed to collect some service tax at their own level.

Package for peasants

Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal demanded a special package to help peasants. “The Scheduled Caste population in the State constitutes 28.85 per cent of the total population, which is the highest in the country. No weightage is given by the Planning Commission in the allocation of funds through various windows to the SC population in the State.” Farm indebtedness had become an alarming problem in the country, and the debt of Punjab farmers was estimated to be over Rs.26,000 crore.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh sought loans at a nominal rate of interest for bright but poor students. The Centre should set up a mechanism in consultation with the States to provide “refundable soft loans with nominal rate of interest” to such students to enable them to pursue professional courses. This would meet the demand for qualified manpower, which was bound to grow with the growing economy.

More growth centres

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said his State would like to develop industry without compromising on the environment to prevent migration from the rural areas. “To support this strategy, we would have to develop growth centres all over the State and impart new skills to the local manpower.”

In an address read on her behalf, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said an increase in irrigation facilities was crucial for agriculture as 90 per cent of farmers in her State had only small and marginal holdings. They badly needed to reduce cultivation costs and boost yields.

Ms. Mayawati complained of an inadequate supply of fertilizers, and wanted the existing policy on DAP fertilizers to be simplified. She demanded that the closed fertilizer plant at Gorakhpur be revived. She urged the Centre to include all 70 districts of the State in the National Horticulture Mission.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad criticised the Centre’s policies on unemployment, and laid stress on the urgent need to modify funding pattern of Centrally-sponsored schemes. Though there was a lot of discussion on the 11th Plan, employment was not central or intrinsic to the Plan formation. The thrust and policy intervention was somewhat missing. “There does not seem to be a clear-cut strategy for employment generation, as there is, for instance, for growth in output,” he said.

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