Anti-SEZ PIL filed in Gujarat HC
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court after admitting a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the constitutional validity of the Special Economic Zone Act of 2005, issued notices to the central government, the state government and the Attorney General of India.

The SEZ Act was challenged before a bench of acting Chief Justice Y R Meena and Justice A S Dave on the grounds that it violates Articles 14, 19, 21 and 301 of the Constitution. The PIL filed by advocate Sharad Vakil, on behalf of Rasiklal Maradia, said many provisions of the act are against the directive principles of state policy and some are without legitimate competence of Parliament.

Moreover, the exemptions granted to companies could result in land and tax scams, the PIL said. It also alleged that provisions of the SEZ Act violated labour laws and there is no protection for workers.

Besides, the overall development of SEZs is in the hands of the development commissioner. As a result, laws applicable in municipalities and municipal corporations will not apply in SEZs, making them akin to "Union dominated territory" within states.
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Govt approves Hindalco, Videocon, Salim Group SEZs
New Delhi: The central government has approved 25 more Special Economic Zones (SEZs), including Indonesia's Salim Group's proposal for setting up two SEZs in West Bengal at an investment of Rs12,500 crore, Videocon's three units in the same state and Hindalco's aluminium plant in Madhya Pradesh.

The board of approvals for SEZs gave formal clearances to eight proposals and granted in-principle nod to 17 others, of the 88 proposals considered today for SEZs in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

With this the total number of formal approvals has increased to 189 and in-principle approvals to 145, an official release said.
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Railways envisage Rs3.5 lakh crore investment through public-private-partnership
New Delhi: The Railway Ministry expects investments of Rs3.5 lakh crore in the next 10 years through public-private-partnership for infrastructure development.

Of the entire investment, around Rs1,00,000 crore would be used to construct 11,500 km of Dedicated Freight Corridor and Rs80,000 crore would be spent on renewing its existing assets. Rs50,000 crore would be invested on upgrade of feeder routes of DFC, port connectivity works and Rs25,000 crore on passenger and freight terminals, sources said.

The ministry further plans to invest Rs20,000 crore on gauge conversion of 12,000 km, Rs15,000 crore on signal and telecom works, Rs5,000 crore on augmentation of manufacturing capacity for rolling stock and Rs55,000 crore for other works, sources said.

As an investment strategy, public-private-partnership has emerged as a favourite option. This route would be preferred in the DFC project, for building world class railway stations, passenger amenities and commercial utilisation of surplus land, SPV for manufacturing locomotives, coaches and wagons, hospitality, tourism and catering, operation of container trains.
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