GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat government headed by then chief minister Narendra Modi had pushed the proposal and obtained Central permission for a special economic zone (SEZ) in Kutch. Now, his own government at the Centre has scrapped the same SEZ.Back in 2007, the Gujarat government had floated proposals to set up SEZs for handicrafts and artisans on 132 hectares of land in Moti Chiral village, near Bhachau town in Kutch district. While formal approval for the same was granted by the board of approval, which operates under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry then, the project was cancelled in February 2015.During the same meeting, yet another proposal for an SEZ in Savli near Gandhinagar for biotechnology had come perilously close to getting cancelled. However, the validity of the permission was extended by a few more months citing some investment made in the project. While the one in Kutch was to be developed by Gujarat Growth Centres Development Corporation (GGCDC), the one in Gandhinagar is being developed by Gujarat Development Corporation (GDC), both state government bodies.The formal approval for the SEZ for handicrafts was first granted in June 2007, but it was extended up to June 2011. However, in spite of the Central department taking up the matter several times with the GGCDC, an official note from the department maintains that “no communication has been received from the developer. Since the developer has failed to initiate any development activity, DC has recommended for cancellation of formal approval”, it added. Sources in the know maintain that the government was not too keen on developing the SEZ at all. While the state government had sought to change the sector of the SEZ from handicrafts and artisan development to mere handicrafts and use it for value addition to imported timber, it had also sought to reduce the total area from the initial 131 hectares to just 15 hectares in 2010.