5,400 acres of land parcels of PSUs may be monetised through new SPV

These would be land of state-owned units under divestment and those that the Centre has decided to shut

In a bid to push monetisation of non-core assets, the Centre has identified about 5,400 acres of land parcels of public sector undertakings (PSUs) such as BEML, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and MTNL, among others.
 

These are being proposed to be monetised through the new National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC).

The soon-to-be operational specialised entity for monetisation of land parcels would look at ways to monetise these large land parcels identified by various PSUs.
 

The land parcels include those of BSNL and MTNL that the Centre was looking to auction through the department of investment and public asset management’s (DIPAM’s) asset monetisation portal.
 

The first auction had failed to garner adequate response from investors. So, the government now plans to monetise some of these parcels and more identified properties through the NLMC.
 

These assets include land parcels of PSUs under strategic divestment such as BEML and SCI, and also the ones that the government has decided to close.
 

More such assets would be identified by PSUs and government departments for a possible monetisation through this model.

Earlier this month, the Union Cabinet approved setting up of NLMC that would own, hold, manage and help monetise land and building assets of the central public sector enterprises.
 

A special purpose vehicle (SPV), announced in the Union Budget last year, would act as an asset manager and would monitor and manage land and buildings.
 

The NLMC would house sector experts and also act as strategic advisors for various government departments. It will assist them in monetisation of non-core assets.
 

Government departments have also been asked to prepare a list of idle assets that can be monetised. These departments would identify land assets, and put them up for monetisation, the official quoted above said.
 

NLMC is proposed to be a wholly-owned central entity with an initial authorised share capital of Rs 5,000 crore and paid-up capital of Rs 150 crore.
 

It will have a minimal full-time staff, hired directly from the market on a contract basis. Its board of directors will comprise senior central government officers and eminent experts to enable professional management of the company.
 

Some assets have been identified as a part of the Centre’s Rs 6-trillion asset monetisation pipeline. They are being monetised under the plan. These include large land parcels owned by the ministry of defence and ministry of railways.