A massive scandal appears to be brewing in 'reckless' approval of special economic zones, the opposition charged in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, with the BJP claiming that they were turning out to 'boom zones' for realtors to grab prime land with tax breaks.
The opposition questioned the earmarking of a substantial 60,000 hectares of land for these zones, saying it was far beyond the necessity.
Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP) said half of the land was being handed out to non-processing zones, which the country's "land sharks" were acquiring with imputiny to set up hotels, restaurants and malls.
India caught on to the SEZ idea from the West, but in the entire world there are just 303 such zones and in China only six mega-sized zones, Prasad said initiating the dicussion on the working of the Commerce Ministry in the House.
He said India has gone in for 439 SEZs, of which 338 are coming up in private land earmarked for non-processing zones.
He said 65 per cent of the land was being earmarked for such zones, which enjoyed tax exemptions and which were being acquired by the realtors 'through back door'.
There has been an unease in the country on the issue, which has been pointed out by the CAG, the Parliamentary Standing Committee and in Parliament itself, he said.
He said the Centre had put an embargo on approvals, but now the Commerce Ministry has asked the government to allow it to give relaxation on case-by-case basis. "The case-by-case basis smacks of suitcase-by-suitcase approvals," he said.
Terming the approach as 'reckless' and 'hurried', the member said 'real estate dealers are making a beeline for these SEZs as they see a chance to acquire prime land on fringes of urban areas.'
India's great rush for SEZs