Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The State government has granted a waiver of nearly Rs 1.98 crore in stamp duty on a deed of surrender executed between Meditab Specialities Limited and the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) for the return of over 12.32 lakh square metres of land at Keri in Ponda. The total valuation of the surrendered land stands at Rs 33 crore.
According to an order issued on February 13, Under Secretary (Revenue) Agnelo D’Souza confirmed that the government approved exemption of stamp duty amounting to Rs 1,98,00,000 in connection with the surrender of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) land located in Keri village.
The State Cabinet had, in January last year, resolved to reclaim the land originally allotted to Meditab during 2006–07 for establishing an SEZ. The government has since decided that the land will be put to alternative use.
The Goa SEZ Policy introduced in 2006 aimed to accelerate industrial growth and attract investment by facilitating the creation of Special Economic Zones across the State. Under this framework, land parcels were allotted to seven developers, including Meditab, which received more than 12 lakh square metres at Keri through GIDC.
However, the policy faced widespread public resistance, prompting the government to publish a white paper in December 2007 that questioned the limited economic returns from the proposed SEZs. Subsequently, the State scrapped the SEZ policy in 2008. GIDC then issued show-cause notices to all seven developers and formally revoked their land allotments on June 24, 2008.
The affected promoters challenged the cancellations before the Bombay High Court at Goa. In November 2010, the High Court upheld the State government’s decision to withdraw the policy. The matter was later escalated to the Supreme Court, where the case remains pending adjudication.
