Satyam, Maytas SEZs to come under scanner

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New Delhi: In the wake of the Satyam scam, 6 Special Economic Zones (SEZ) – three each belonging to Satyam and Maytas could come under scanner.

Official sources said Andhra Pradesh government is mulling asking the Centre to review all the documents regarding these six SEZs and has taken it up with the Centre. However, commerce ministry officials told FE they have not yet got any information in this regard.

All the six SEZs are located in Andhra Pradesh and are IT/IteS SEZs. They have all been notified. The developers of these SEZs are Satyam Computer Services Ltd in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam as well as Maytas Enterprises SEZ Pvt Ltd, Maytas Ventures SEZ Pvt Ltd and Maytas Hill County SEZ Pvt Ltd, all in Ranga Reddy district. (see chart)

Commerce ministry officials said since these SEZs house several buildings, other structures, and several industrial units as well as 5,000 to 10,000 employees working in them, there was no question of denotifying it even if Andhra Pradesh government pushes for it.

However, if Satyam or Maytas goes into liquidation, or if it is felt that the developers are unable to perform their duties, the government can look at appointing an administrator, who could be the Development Commissioner of the SEZ and then look for a new developer to be in charge of the SEZs, sources said.

If no new developer comes forward to buy the SEZs, technically the government can even take over the affairs of these SEZs, they said, adding, however, that it is too early to take a call.

Since December 2007, the Centre is battling the Goa government, which has been pressing for denotification of three SEZs in that state. The state government has cited representations and protests that said the zones would adversely affect tourism and environment. There was also criticism that SEZs will take away scarce land in the state.

The Centre has told the Goa government that it was ready to scrap three notified special economic zones (SEZ) in Goa if the state government reaches an amicable settlement with the developers of the zones by offering them compensation for the damages. The Centre has indicated that the state would have to compensate the developers for the investments made alongwith the interest amount to avoid litigation and other complications.

Earlier, the Centre had stated that it was not possible to denotify the three notified SEZs in the state, as there is no such provision under the SEZ Act of 2006. The matter is pending before the Panaji Bench of the Bombay High court.