As a result of the decision by the empowered group of ministers on special economic zones, no land acquired by a state government after February 10, 2006, can be transferred to a private developer.

This is a blanket ban and covers any type of SEZ-related land acquisition or transfer by the government or any of its agencies or corporations. In addition, joint ventures between state governments and private developers will not be approved for SEZs.

"If the land has been acquired by a state government (or its agencies) before the SEZ Act came into force on February 10, 2006 and transferred to a private-sector SEZ, there will be no problem. However, any land acquired after this date cannot be transferred," a commerce ministry official said.

The official added that some SEZs, for which land acquisition is underway, have been impacted by the policy change. "We will be checking the details. There are no such cases in the 234 formally-approved zones that already have land in their possession and are ready for notification because they acquired the land before February 10, 2006," he said.

A number of private sector SEZs in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, however, will be affected by this decision.

For instance, for Reliance Industries in Jhajjar, the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation is believed to have acquired and transferred 567 hectares to the special purpose vehicle for the zone. "That transfer is no longer valid," the official said.

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