LAHORE: The Prime Minister’s Office (Board of Investment/SEZ Secretariat) says the sale of plots by the Punjab Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (PIEDMC) in various Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the province despite a moratorium is unlawful and requires a thorough probe.

The PM office has asked the Punjab Special Economic Zone Authority (SEZA) to verify the data along with the summary sheets by Sept 7 with a focus on provisional allotment letters issued by the PIEDMC, specifically the data and the competency of the authority to accord such approvals.

“Till the finalisation of the policy regarding sale of plots in the SEZs, the BOI, being secretariat of the approvals committee and board of approvals hereby advises all the SEZAs to direct all the zone developers under their jurisdiction to avoid any sale of industrial plot to any investor without the approval of the SEZ committee,” reads a letter the PM office wrote to the authorities concerned on Sept 1.

Nothing illegal, says PIEDMC

It also refers to a BOI’s letter of Oct 8, 2020, in pursuant of a decision taken in the 6th meeting of the Board of Approvals, held on Oct 7, 2020 and presided over by the prime minister, a moratorium was placed on the sale/ lease/ sub-lease etc of plots in all the SEZs, and consequently all SEZAs and zone developers were accordingly directed to immediately stop all activities related to sale, lease or sub-lease of plots and ensure its implementation in their respective jurisdictions.

The moratorium remained enforced from Oct 9, 2020 to January 1, 2021 and was finally withdrawn in pursuance of a decision made by the board of approvals in its 7th meeting presided over by the PM and the same was communicated to the SEZAs and developers through BOI’s letter of Jan 1, 2021.

“However, regretfully, it has been observed that despite the placement of the moratorium, a considerable number of plots in SEZs of Bhalwal, Vehari and Rahim Yar Khan and erstwhile Quaid-e-Azam Apparel Park were sold by their zone developer—PIEDMC. The data pertaining to these SEZs, duly endorsed by the SEZA vide its letter of March 4, 2021 also validates this observation,” says the letter written by the Lt-Col retired Shakeel Ahmad Shah, Industrial and SEZ Manager (PM Office / BOI secretariat).

It states that while the case was under consideration for re-notification of Quaid-e-Azam Apparel Park as Quaid-e-Azam Business Park (QABP) during the period--16th July to 7th October 2020, the developer approved allotment of plots under the name of QABP which was not a notified SEZ at that time, and later, after approval of change in the name on 7th October 2020, in the 6th meeting of the Board of Approval, it blatantly violated the moratorium that was placed in pursuance of the decision taken in the same meeting on Oct 8, 2020.

“We have also learnt that the PIEDMC is still allotting land without placing the cases before the SEZ committees for approval. Recently, M/s Oreal Ceramics, which is already an approved zone enterprise operating in Bhalwal SEZ, has disclosed in a meeting that PIEDMC has allotted it additional land in the afforementioned SEZ, whereas the record reveals that no such case for allotment of additional land to the said zone enterprise has been placed till date before the respective SEZ committee.”

Meanwhile, the PM secretariat in an another letter of August 30, 2021 said:

“Since the decisions contained in the said minutes have been drafted unilaterally without properly recording the points of discussion and seeking endorsement from the committee members, the PIEDMC is requested to withdraw the aforedated minutes of the meeting as well as the aforesaid 10 letters for granting zone enterprise status being void abinitio.”

When contacted, a senior PIEDMC official dispelled the impression, terming it an attempt to fail the PM’s fast track approach to attract local and foreign investors.

“The moratorium is not a big issue. Its is the BOI which is creating hurdles in the way of development of SEZs in Punjab. We have done nothing illegal as the plots sold to investors were according to the prescribed law, rules & regulations,” the official said. He termed the SEZA Act anti-investor, claiming that none of the SEZs developed so far had followed the act.

“None of the SEZs could have been developed by following the act,” he added.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2021