Cabinet nod sought to sell off VSNL’s surplus land
14 Dec 2011
The telecom ministry has sought cabinet approval to sell 773 acres of surplus land held in the name of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, said to be worth around Rs6,150 crore.
The ministry has circulated a cabinet note asking all the ministries concerned to give their comments in 15 days, as the government tries to cover the large shortfall in disinvestment targets.
Although VSNL is now part of Tata Communications which bought a majority stake in 2002, the surplus land – spread across Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune - was not part of the deal with Tata and still remains VSNL's property.
At a meeting on 10 August, the telecom commission had decided to hold 51.12 per cent in Hemisphere Properties India Ltd (HPIL), a special purpose vehicle into which the 773 acres of land will be transferred. The company will appoint an expert consultant for the purpose.
The DoT had proposed to hive off the surplus land held by VSNL into a separate company to unlock the value by selling it.
However, the process hit rough weather with the Tatas raising a number of issues, including clarity on who will bear the cost of creating the new company.