They could also face cancellation of land allotted by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation if they are using land for purposes other than the clearance secured, the Business Line has reported.

A recent meeting to review the progress of SEZs in the State chaired by the chief minister, K Rosaiah, has called upon various departments to closely monitor the progress of the SEZs and back up with support infrastructure to ensure that they create additional employment, the report added.

However, in a State which has garnered a lion's share of the SEZs allotted by the Centre, many developers are yet to commence work citing slowdown as one of the reasons for delay in implementation of the project. The Government is also likely to issue notices to those who have taken up projects other than the reason for allotment, it said.

Andhra Pradesh accounts for the highest number of SEZs notified in the country. Of the 107 proposals given in principle clearance for AP, 73 of them have been notified. Maharashtra with 58 SEZs, Tamil Nadu (52), Haryana (31) and other States follow on. Of this IT and IT ES sectors have been allocated 43 SEZs, followed by pharma and multi-product SEZs.