What CM Modi did, PM Modi doesn’t

Back in 2007 when Narendra Modi was Gujarat’s Chief Minister, he had proposed a special economic zone (SEZ) in Kutch and had even obtained permission from the then Government.

However, now his Government at the Centre has scrapped the proposal.

Modi had pushed for SEZs for handicrafts and artisans on 132 hectares of land in Moti Chiral village in Kutch district. Even though it got a nod by the board of approval, which operated under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry then, the project was cancelled in February 2015.

Economic Times reported that during the same meeting, yet another proposal for an SEZ in Savli near Gandhinagar for biotechnology had come perilously close to getting cancelled.

However, the validity of the permission was extended citing some investment made in the project.

While the one in Kutch was to be developed by Gujarat Growth Centres Development Corporation (GGCDC), the one in Gandhinagar is being developed by Gujarat Development Corporation (GDC).

The formal approval for the SEZ for handicrafts was first granted in June 2007, but it was extended up to June 2011.

The central department took up the matter several times with the GGCDC to no avail. An official note from the department reads "no communication has been received from the developer.”

The note added since the developer has failed to initiate any development activity, DC has recommended for cancellation of formal approval.

Sources told ET that the government was not too keen on developing the SEZ at all. While the state government had sought to change the sector of the SEZ from handicrafts and artisan development to mere handicrafts and use it for value addition to imported timber, it had also sought to reduce the total area from the initial 131 hectares to just 15 hectares in 2010.

(Image: Reuters)