Lower minimum area of land required for multi-product SEZs to 250 hectares from 1,000

Many key changes are in the works to change the contours of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy and boost growth across these units. Following a discussion paper last November, the commerce ministry has prepared a draft SEZ policy, detailing revision in the minimum land requirement for these zones, easier contiguity norms, clarity in land sale and transfer, relocation of the zones, development of infrastructure, extending focus market schemes to these units and exit policy for developers and units, among others.

General agreement on most clauses, GoM to finalise loose ends in a few days

The group of ministers (GoM) on the land acquisition Bill on Tuesday agreed to present the draft legislation before the Cabinet in two weeks. The GoM would go through some consultation and tying up of loose ends at a meeting this week between Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who is also the GoM chairman.

The government has cancelled its earlier permission for the Adani Group's Special Economic Zone (SEZ) over 1,840 hectares (ha) in Mundra (Gujarat), for violation of three rules.

Adani has a larger SEZ project in the same region and this is not affected by the government decision. Sources in the Union ministry of commerce and industry said Adani Ports and SEZ's project in question did not conform to the contiguity norms. And, breached a rule requiring the SEZ site to be vacant before approval was sought for the tax-free zone. Besides, the site was land-locked.

New Delhi Nothwithstanding the thickening cloud of scandals around it, the UPA government is pressing ahead with its reforms agenda. A group of ministers (GoM) on Tuesday approved the long-pending land bill for Cabinet consideration after resolving disputes between ministries.

As per the final draft, approval of two-third of land owners and affected families will be required for acquiring land for PPP and private sector projects with defined public purposes. If the Bill is approved by Parliament —the plan is to introduce it, vetted earlier by the relevant House panel, in the Winter session — it will remove yet another hurdle for investors and spur economic activity.

New Delhi: In a virtually unprecedented move, the government has decided to withdraw permission to Adani Group’s 1,840 hectare special economic zone (SEZ) in Gujarat for alleged violation of the la

“If a dam on Kosi did not stop floods, this too will be a waste”

Airing scepticism over the inter-linking of rivers serving the desired purpose, social activist Medha Patkar on Sunday charged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with embarking on the project in the State without consulting people. “I am apprehensive about inter-linking of rivers serving the desired purpose and if it is so then chronic flood caused by Kosi river should have stopped after construction of dams,” she said at the ninth biennial national conference of the public movements on environmental issues.

National highways will now be constructed on the concepts of spot improvement and corridor redevelopment to take the financial burden off the government and make it more public-friendly.

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways C. P. Joshi has approved two pilot projects in this regard. At the Hero Honda Chowk on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway the spot improvement concept would be experimented and the corridor redevelopment concept would be executed on the Delhi-Dasna section of NH-24.

The Indian marine and coastal biodiversity is under serious threat from developmental projects, according to experts at the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Though India has a 7500-km coastline, which supports almost 30 per cent of its population in biological and economic wastelands, the coastal and marine stretch in India is coming under unprecedented threats from various development projects including ports, power plants, ship yards and aquaculture.

GoM on Bill may meet again today to resolve issues including retrospective acquisition

Palghar in this tribal-dominated district is fast emerging as a hub of highly-polluted industries categorised as "red" by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, according to a report.

Painting a bleak picture, a recent report of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) mentions that out of 7418 classified industries in the district, 2384 or 32 per cent fall in the Red zone, while Palghar accounts for 754 such industrial units.