Punjab clears much-awaited SEZ bill

Rahul Kumar, Chandigarh
Business Standard
With the SAD-BJP government clearing the much-awaited Punjab Special Economic Zones Bill, 2009, on Saturday, the decks have been cleared for developers to give a major boost to the development of the SEZ's in the state.

As per the norms laid down in the policy, the requirement of areas for setting up SEZs in case of a multi product SEZ is 1,000 hectare, product-specific 100 hectare, IT-specific 10 hectare and warehousing 40 hectare. Speaking about the policy, state industries & commerce minister Manoranjan Kalia said due to paucity of land and high cost in the state, the government has asked the Centre for relaxation in the aforementioned norms and has also sought permission for development of SEZs as per viability of the project, to be determined by the developer.