Hailed as one of the biggest pushes for industrial expansion in post-independence India when the SEZ Act was passed in 2005, some critics now are dubbing the duty-free enclaves "Special Exploitation Zones."

The privately run zones, intended to be oases of world class infrastructure in a country where power and water shortages are routine, are drawing fire over the lucrative tax breaks they offer and the way land is being acquired and used.

"The three-letter buzzword SEZ could well be the next political four-letter word," comments leading news magazine India Today in its latest issue.

The government has cleared 150 applications from foreign and domestic companies and 225 are in the pipeline, says India's Ministry of Commerce Secretary Gopal Pillai.

These involve thousands of acres (hectares) of land across the country.

The Congress-led government estimates the zones, inspired by the SEZs set up a quarter century ago in China that helped drive its rapid industrial growth, will create at least two million jobs and draw billions of dollars of investment in coming years.

But despite this, the cabinet cannot agree whether the zones will be a money spinner or a drain on government coffers.