Are the SEZs not being closed by the Goa Government ?

The Goa government, which mounted pressure on the Centre to cancel all Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the state, has not taken any initiative to close down those estates and compensate the developers in the last six months, commerce ministry officials said.

The Centre has refused to denotify three SEZs in Goa that had already been approved and notified. In December 2007, Goa decided to scrap special economic zones after widespread protests. In a letter to the state government, the Commerce Ministry says there's no provision to denotify these SEZs and advises that the state hold discussions with the developers to reach an amicable settlement.

The Goa government has obtained two weeks’ time from a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in Goa to take a decision on its stop-work orders issued to three private developers of Special Economic Zones.

Reiterating that it was firm on its decision to scrap the SEZS, the government of Goa asked the Central government to review its refusal to de-notify the zones.