It is now becoming painfully obvious that apart from announcing that all SEZs were scrapped on New Year's Eve and issuing

Nationalist Congress Party expressed shock at the stand of the Center on proposed SEZs in Goa and said that it was a direct affront to the sentiments of the people of Goa and termed it as an acid test for the govt in power. In a press note, NCP Spokesman and General Secretary Surendra Furtado said that the attitude of the Under Secretary of the Union Minister for Commerce stating that the SEZ could not be revoked smacked of "money talking.'

THE Madras High Court has upheld an order dated November 3, 2006, of the Industries Department, acquiring 395.87 hectares of land in Oragadam and Sennakuppam villages in Kancheepuram district for setting up special economic zones (SEZs). In their writ petitions, M Haridoss and 15 others had challenged the acquisition proceedings on various grounds. Dismissing the petitions, Justice P Jyothimani observed that there had been compliance of service of notice and hearing of petitioners' grievances.

The state government needs Rs 430 crore for the first phase in the acquisition of zerayati land spread over 9,237 acres around Kolleru lake in Krishna and East Godavari districts. The land is situated in fifth contour of Kolleru lake that is being restored after the Supreme Court's directions.

The Goa government has obtained two weeks' time from a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in Goa to take a decision on its stop-work orders issued to three private developers of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The government was on Monday caught in a bind over a communication from the Centre expressing inability to denotify three of the already notified SEZs proposed to come up in Goa.

It will await land procurement panel's clearance The project is to be set up on over 4,800 acres of land Trinamool Congress has expressed opposition to it In line with its decision to go ahead with moves to acquire land for industry and infrastructure only with the consent of local elected bodies, the West Bengal government announced here on Tuesday that it would put on hold the proposal to set up a major township at Dankuni in the Hooghly district.

If the reactions to the Union Commerce Ministry's decision declining the Goa government's request to denotify the three SEZ's that were granted final approval

Though the Central government has refused to de-notify three Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the State government has still got a case to get the SEZ scrapped. The State government will have to inquire into fraudulent land allotments for SEZs and prove that transactions entered into were in contravention of law, suggested opposition leader Manohar Parrikar, while reacting to the Centre's refusal to heed the Goa government's demand on SEZs

The three special economic zones in Goa notified under Special Economic Zone Act 2005 have already been denotified by the people of Goa and therefore a bureaucratic order is meaningless and impractical, said Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, Shantaram Naik. Reacting to the refusal by the Union Commerce Ministry to de-notify the three special economic zones, Naik said that he had no doubt that the State government will not leave the issue in wilderness and fight the battle in the interest of the people and the State.

The provision for urgent take-overs bypassing procedure is open to misuse by powerful interests.

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