SC asks Haryana for status report on Reliance SEZ

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Haryana to file the latest status report on Reliance-Haryana special economic zone (SEZ), for which 1,383 acres in Gurgaon had been earmarked.

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Haryana to file the latest status report on Reliance-Haryana special economic zone (SEZ), for which 1,383 acres in Gurgaon had been earmarked.

Chief Justice P Sathasivam, justices Ranjan Gogoi and Shiva Kirti Singh asked Haryana to file the report after it observed that Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation had not even filed its response to the public interest litigation (PIL) by Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) leader Kuldip Bishnoi, who had challenged the central as well as Haryana SEZ Act.

Bishnoi is a son of former Haryana chief minister late Bhajan Lal. The court order came when senior counsel Amarender Saran informed it that Reliance had withdrawn from the project, and the 1,383 acres for the proposed SEZ had been returned to the state government. The Centre had given an in-principle approval to the SEZ on June 6, 2006, and it was notified on November 11, 2007.

By allocating the land, Haryana had picked up a 30% stake in the SEZ, which then came to be known as Reliance-Haryana SEZ. The allotment was made from about 12,000 acres acquired by the state government in Gurgaon in 2003.

Reliance, however, offered to return the land on January 17, 2012, and it was de-notified on June 12, 2013. Apart from challenging the land's transfer, Kuldip Bishnoi contended that it was part of a green belt, and could not be used for any other purpose. Haryana said that by the subsequent NCR regional plans, the land use had been changed and it could now be used for industries.