SEZ draft bill may release underutilized real estate

25 Jul 2022 , 09:01 AM

According to analysts, the government’s initiative to modernise special economic zones (SEZs) will revive interest in the commercial hotspots, make them more inclusive in terms of economic activity, and fetch a good price for real estate in these areas.

It is anticipated that a draftt Bill to transform SEZs into Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs (DESH) will permit partial denotification of these hubs to release underutilised regions. Information technology SEZs that have requested partial denotification of unoccupied spaces will appreciate the proposal that the built-up area in a services hub need not be contiguous.

The bill also suggests creating a comprehensive single-window clearance procedure, complete with a single application form and return, for the purpose of granting time-bound permissions for the construction and operation of these hubs.

GIFT City is the first SEZ in the nation to receive the required approvals for this from the SEZ Board, the Gujarati government, and the board of approvals (BoA), which is overseen by the ministry of commerce.

The processing area and non-processing area are the two basic divisions of SEZs. While the non-processing area is used for things like homes, schools, universities, social, institutional, and post office activities, the processing area is where the SEZ units do the majority of their activity.

Due to this approval for dual use, the non-processing area will be split into two distinct zones: one where social or commercial infrastructure and other facilities may be used by both the SEZ and the domestic tariff area entities under the dual use, and the other where the SEZ units may use them only.