MP: SEZ land de-notification to pave way for smart city project

The Union government’s move to denotify a portion of the special economic zone (SEZ) in Pithampur has paved the way for a modern residential township, apart from a host of other projects worth hundreds of crores.

The Union government’s move to denotify a portion of the special economic zone (SEZ) in Pithampur has paved the way for a modern residential township, apart from a host of other projects worth hundreds of crores.

The smart city, in the vicinity of industrial units, will be a self-sustained township with modern infrastructure. (HT file photo)

The Centre recently denotified 170 hectares (420 acres) land of Pithampur SEZ.

The state government plans to build a smart city on about 300-acre land and allocate small portions for private projects, including those of Micromax and auto ancillary company Motherson Sumi.

“Micromax proposes to set up a handset manufacturing unit in Pithampur for which the government will allocate 10-acre land. The company wants to set up its unit outside the SEZ and the project can now go ahead with denotification of a portion of SEZ,” Audyogik Kendra Vikas Nigam (AKVN) Indore managing director Kumar Purushottam said.

The state government has conducted a feasibility study and prepared a detailed project report for the smart city project to be developed on public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

The smart city, in the vicinity of industrial units, will be a self-sustained township with modern infrastructure.

The government plans to shortlist a developer through national open tender for preparing a master plan of the smart city. Once the master plan is approved by the departments concerned, work will begin and the developer will get the lease rights for a stipulated period.

Indore SEZ, which is located in Pithampur, was spread over an area of 1,113 hectares out of which the Union government has denotified 170 hectares. At present there are 49 operational units in the zone.