Bonnie Konyak
Dimapur | August 30
Amidst differing opinions, a second Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has been accorded approval in Nagaland. Principle Secretary of Industries & Commerce, Alemtemshi Jamir, attending the Board of Approval (BOA) for Special Economic Zone, under the Ministry of Commerce which was held today, informed the department telephonically on the said approval.
The approval of the second SEZ in Nagaland is for a Product Specific Agro Food Processing Special Economic Zone, which implies that the SEZ can only deal in agricultural products unlike the earlier approved Multi Products Special Economic Zone.
Director of Industries & Commerce, Er. G Keppen Rengma informed through a release that it has been proposed to convert the existing Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) at Ganeshnagar into a Special Economic Zone. This new SEZ is to be promoted by Nagaland Industrial Development Cooperation Limited (NIDC).
Departmental sources informed that this new venture would still need a lot of work even though superficial construction of the EPIP had been completed years ago on an area of 125 acres of land which is presently lying in waste. Talking about the advantages of the SEZ, the source said that the new arrangement would absorb surplus agricultural products which are presently being wasted. Pineapples, passion fruit, bamboo shoot and medicinal and aromatic plants like lemon grass, aloe vera are some of the produce being considered for proposal. However a lot still remains to be done before the project can actually take, least of not will be that of convincing the people. As the Departmental source said, the first work will have to be able to “sell” the SEZ, and woo people to come and work with it.
In the meantime a group of ministers set up to finalize a relief and rehabilitation policy today decided in Delhi to give state governments a discretion to acquire 30 per cent of the land required for an industrial project or special economic zones provided the developer has acquired the balance. State governments can now acquire 30 per cent of the land on behalf of the project developer if the company has already taken 70 per cent of the land in possession, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said after a meeting of the Group of Ministers. The decision is not specific to SEZs but would apply to all industrial projects, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said.
Morung Express News
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