New Delhi: As much as 23,779 hectares of land, around 52 percent of the area marked for the development of special economic zones, is lying vacant, Parliament was informed on Monday.
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary said that 52 percent of the notified SEZs land is presently vacant.
Out of the total notified area of 45,629 hectares in respect of 375 notified zones, 21872.71 hectares have been utilised and 23,779.19 hectares are lying vacant in these SEZs, he said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
"In respect of 375 notified zones, 93.47 percent of land is waste/barren/dry/industrial, 5.28 per cent of land is single crop and 1.25 per cent is double crop," he added.
He said setting up of SEZ is a long term process and delay in commencement of commercial operations of the zone may be due to various reasons, he added.
As on September last, exports from these zones stood at RS 2.66 lakh crore.
In a separate reply, he said the Coffee Board has applied for registration of Araku coffee under geographical indications(GI) to protect the unique identity of the commodity grown by the tribal communities of Araku Valley in Visakhapatnam.
A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
Such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness which is essentially attributable to its origin in that defined geographical locality.
Darjeeling Tea, Mahabaleshwar Strawberry, Blue Pottery of Jaipur, Banarasi Sarees and Tirupati Laddus are some of the GIs.
"Arabica coffee from the Araku Valley area has gained popularity as a high quality speciality coffee internationally. The Coffee Board has developed exclusive logos for coffee grown in the country based on their geographical distinctiveness," he added.
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