The government plans to modify the access control norms for special economic zone, which prescribes for a wall and a fencing of a particular height, and make them flexible on demands from the developers.

The norms were prescribed to monitor the movement of goods, but now they would be modified on demands of the IT industry, senior officials said.

The developers of IT SEZs do not want the walls topped with fences to damage the look of their glass and concrete buildings and moreover the export of software cannot be monitored by putting barricades, they said.

Now instead of insisting on the height of the walls the promoters would be given an option to decide how they want to control access to the zones -- either electronically or physically or by resorting to both.

Officials said the norms laid down for access control in the new SEZ rules were copied from those laid down for SEZs that came up earlier.

The earlier norms were in turn based on the very first SEZ that came up in the country in the 1960s.

"With new access control and monitoring technologies available in the market it has been decided to make the norms flexible," officials said.

Do you want to discuss stock tips? Do you know a hot one? Join the Stock Market Discussion Group.