Union Government mulls to incorporate SEZ in Amritsar

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 14

All is not lost on the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) front awarded to the holy city.

The Union Government is mulling the proposal to accommodate the SEZ in the ambitious Amritsar-Kolkata- Delhi Industrial Corridor (AKDIC).

CPS Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had pursued the setting up of the SEZ here, said she had learnt it from the Ministry of Commerce that the proposal to establish the SEZ in the holy city was being considered. She added that details besides other information was not available since it was at an early stage.

Earlier, regarding awarding of the SEZ status to the holy city, the Board of Approval, Department of Commerce, at its meeting held on March 17, 2006, had decided to issue in-principle approvals in favour of DLF Universal Ltd. for setting up of the three sector-specific SEZs. These sectors were textile, engineering and food processing at Amritsar, keeping in view the recommendation of the state government.

The ministry, in its response to an RTI plea filed by Michael, a resident of the city, stated that since the DLF did not pursue further with the Department of Commerce regarding issuance of a formal approval, accordingly the SEZ project was not implemented.

It is stated in local circles that property dealers and land sharks made money by purchasing land adjoining the area earmarked for the proposed SEZ on the Amritsar-Jalandhar road since most of the gullible land owners were unaware about the proposed project due to lack of publicity.

The market price of the land skyrocketed, touching Rs 2.5 to 4 lakh per acre, depending on the area after the District Town Planner earmarked the area for the dream project announced by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, way back in 2000. The state government had announced to acquire 1,250 acres of land to set up the project.

The government had even notified the acquisition of land for setting up the SEZ in villages of Manawala, Rakhjeeta, Mehma, Pandore, Jheeta Kalan, Jheeta Khurd and Bhaghapurana.

The setting up of the SEZ would help in creating thousands of jobs and generation of income, attracting FDIs, technology transfers and strengthening of marketing linkages of the hand tools, auto parts, textiles and agriculture-based industries.

The announcement of the SEZ had brought cheer to the residents of Amritsar which had been awaiting a boost for industrial development to bolster its sluggish economy.

However, there were others who were not satisfied with the area marked for the prestigious project.

The then PM, Dr Manmohan Singh, had announced the 2,500 acre multi-product SEZ which was squeezed to only 1,250 acres. Later, buzz was that the state government had changed the site to the Focal Point.