By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The state committee of Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) Friday approved 10 more applications for establishing special economic zones (SEZs) but asked the V.S. Achuthanandan government to draft a policy document on the issue.
The state government will now forward the applications to the central government.
Addressing reporters here after the meeting, LDF convenor Vaikom Viswam said all the apprehensions raised by Achuthanandan had been addressed.
“We have asked the government to see that certain guidelines are strictly adhered to. The guidlines would include that 70 percent of the area should be used for productive purposes and the rest can have hotels, halls and accommodation facilities.
“At no cost will agricultural land be acquired for SEZs and they should have only labour-friendly polices. Tariff concessions will be restricted in sales tax, electricity tariffs and building taxes,” said Viswam.
These guidelines are stricter than the central government rules that require only 50 percent utilization of the land area for productive purposes for industries.