Click to play videoNew Delhi: One step forward, and one step backward – that seems to be the state of the Special Economic Zones being set up and proposed across the country.
Though the meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers – convened on Monday to discuss the issue – remained inconclusive, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had all reasons to smile.
After all, all the 63 notified SEZs are going ahead as planned.
" We will meet again soon on the issue," said Nath.
However, despite having postponed the crucial discussions on issues such as rehabilitation and environment assessment, the EGoM did bring up the most important of all talking points – land.
"The EGoM discussed land issues, rehabilitation question and possible misuse of tax concessions. But it remained inconclusive," Nath said.
But it’s clear that the "Government of the aam admi (common man)" clearly doesn’t want to decide on the crucial issue of land - definitely not before the crucial state elections.
All eyes are now firmly focused on what the Cabinet decides to do with the rehabilitation policy when it discusses it 10 days later.
CNN-IBN has learnt that the rehabilitation policy is likely to propose:
- Rehabilitation measures before any land is actually acquired.
- The policy will seek lucrative compensation.
- The policy will institute a mechanism to assess how displacement would affect the livelihood of the people.
- It will also assess impact on the environment.
- The assessments will be done by the state governments.
- A draft of the policy is currently being circulated by the Rural Development Ministry which when cleared, will be made into law.
This policy will be crucial in the days ahead as the UPA goes about selling the dream of industrialisation to the aam admi.
This will help the Government have something tangible to show for its claims of pursuing reforms with a human face.
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