Broad benefits of special economic zones

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: purpose. While this may be good in theory, in practice many Indian states do not have sufficient free land. In India, wastelands constitute 17.6% of total cultivable land, and in high population-density states like West Bengal, this figure is less than 1%. Can industry be built in the air?

The food security argument is not a valid one. With the use of new technologies (particularly dry-land farming), food production can be increased rapidly on the same land. According to an estimate, even if 100,000 hectares of cultivable land in the state of West Bengal is taken away for industrial purposes, there will be no threat to the food security of that state. This does not, however, give governments the right to bully landowners and cultivators. They must get adequate compensation, and indiscriminate acquisition of land for SEZs should be stopped immediately.

Ideally speaking, state industrial development corporations should buy land directly from owners and sell them to industrial houses through the use of a competitive bidding process.

This will safeguard owners’ interest and industrialists can acquire land at lower transaction cost.

The commerce ministry has also taken a significant decision with regard to land use policy in SEZs. It is good that at least 50% of land will be used for industrial purposes, while 25% each will be used for infrastructure and other uses (such as housing). This will ensure better use of land; otherwise, the real estate mafia will be out to make a quick buck, a qualm that inspires an entirely different set of objections to India’s SEZs.