Special Economic Zones (SEZ) is thoughtful impetus for the respectable economic growth aimed by the planning commission and Government of India. What baffles the urban planners the gross neglect of urban or regional planning while thinking about SEZ empire for INDIA.
From their location it is evident that SEZs are very much an urban phenomenon, with the formation of new cities that will be clustered around existing cities. Worse, a number of the SEZs, especially in the IT/ITES sector, 59 are too small to be planned in an integrated manner. For example, of the 27 SEZs in Ranga Reddy district around Hyderabad, 19, all in the IT/ITES sector, are less than 50 hectares. A higher rate of urbanisation is an inevitable consequence and a necessary facilitator of rapid growth but are we prepared for this? What are the arrangements to run the SEZ cities that will emerge if the policy succeeds?
The existing SEZ Act - mentions the word ‘urban’ in two places, once to note that the Ministry of Urban Development may form part of the Board of Approvals, and the other to provide fiscal relief in case a unit moves from an urban area to an SEZ. The word ‘plan’ or ‘planning’ occurs once in the SEZ Act, in the fiscal context mentioned above, but it does occur twice in the rules, to state that the building approval plan will have to be submitted to the Development Commissioner who shall place it before the Approval Committee for consideration and to state that the developer and codeveloper should ‘abide by the local laws, rules, regulations or bye-laws in regard to area planning, sewerage disposal, pollution control,’ etc.
It is apparent that the urban aspects of the SEZs have received little thought and consideration. This is true even in the deliberations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, which did receive some submissions on the urban planning issue from the Ministry of Urban Development. However, the Committee’s recommendation to reduce the overall size of SEZs and increase the processing area indicates an inappropriate comparison between SEZs and industrial estates, rather than industrial townships.
It appears that the physical planning of the SEZ is at the mercy of the Approval Committee, composed of the Development Commissioner, five Central government officers, two State government officers and the developer as a special invitee. The admonition to abide by local laws
potentially involves the local panchayats that exercises jurisdiction over the SEZ area but it is unfortunately unlikely that they will get a role.
Moreover, the capacity of the panchayat to engage in discussions with the SEZ developer on issues of area planning is questionable and significant capacity building would be needed in this area. Situations where multiple panchayats exercise jurisdiction over one SEZ can occur, land what will happen in this case is unclear.
Indeed, the National Capital Region Planning Board has thus far been ignored in decisions regarding SEZs in the NCR. The rules mention it only once, in the context of the Board of Approvals. So, if the SEZs were to succeed, they could well degenerate into the same kind of urban mess that we see in our cities today, for the same reason – lack of governance. There is almost criminal neglect of urban planning issues in the legislative and administrative framework for SEZs. Indeed, given the kind of location that we have indicated, the urban outgrowth from the existing cities and that from the SEZs can merge to form a large chaotic unplanned morass that will enclose the SEZ.
The existing SEZ Act - mentions the word ‘urban’ in two places, once to note that the Ministry of Urban Development may form part of the Board of Approvals, and the other to provide fiscal relief in case a unit moves from an urban area to an SEZ. The word ‘plan’ or ‘planning’ occurs once in the SEZ Act, in the fiscal context mentioned above, but it does occur twice in the rules, to state that the building approval plan will have to be submitted to the Development Commissioner who shall place it before the Approval Committee for consideration and to state that the developer and codeveloper should ‘abide by the local laws, rules, regulations or bye-laws in regard to area planning, sewerage disposal, pollution control,’ etc.
It is apparent that the urban aspects of the SEZs have received little thought and consideration. This is true even in the deliberations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, which did receive some submissions on the urban planning issue from the Ministry of Urban Development. However, the Committee’s recommendation to reduce the overall size of SEZs and increase the processing area indicates an inappropriate comparison between SEZs and industrial estates, rather than industrial townships.
It appears that the physical planning of the SEZ is at the mercy of the Approval Committee, composed of the Development Commissioner, five Central government officers, two State government officers and the developer as a special invitee. The admonition to abide by local laws
potentially involves the local panchayats that exercises jurisdiction over the SEZ area but it is unfortunately unlikely that they will get a role.
Moreover, the capacity of the panchayat to engage in discussions with the SEZ developer on issues of area planning is questionable and significant capacity building would be needed in this area. Situations where multiple panchayats exercise jurisdiction over one SEZ can occur, land what will happen in this case is unclear.
Indeed, the National Capital Region Planning Board has thus far been ignored in decisions regarding SEZs in the NCR. The rules mention it only once, in the context of the Board of Approvals. So, if the SEZs were to succeed, they could well degenerate into the same kind of urban mess that we see in our cities today, for the same reason – lack of governance. There is almost criminal neglect of urban planning issues in the legislative and administrative framework for SEZs. Indeed, given the kind of location that we have indicated, the urban outgrowth from the existing cities and that from the SEZs can merge to form a large chaotic unplanned morass that will enclose the SEZ.
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