The central government has taken a big step to meet the disinvestment target. On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the formation of the National Land Monetization Corporation. After this move of the government, the way has been cleared for monetization of vacant and idle lands of public sector central undertakings and other government departments.
Government treasury to be filled: According to the statement issued by the government after the cabinet meeting, “With the monetization of non-core assets, the government will be able to generate substantial revenue by monetizing unused and underutilized assets. Central Public Sector Undertakings have a large number of additional unused and underutilized assets in the form of land and buildings.
The initial share capital for Rashtriya Bhumi Printing Corporation will be Rs 5000 crore and Paid-UP Capital will be Rs 150 crore.
The properties of these departments will be auctioned: According to sources, ministries like Railways, Telecom and Defense have a large number of surplus lands which are to be monetised. Let us tell you, some time ago the government had invited bids for the sale of properties of MTNL and BSNL, but due to the high reserve price, no investor had bid for it.
Monetization goal: In September last year, the government had set a target of monetizing government assets worth Rs 6 lakh crore in the next four years. This includes 66 per cent of the assets belonging to the road, railways and energy departments.
Who has how much land? According to the Economic Survey for the financial year 2021-22, central public sector undertakings have designated about 3,400 acres of land and non-core assets for monetization to Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM). This includes properties of MTNL, BSNL, BPCL, BEML, HMT. According to government data, Railways has 11.8 lakh acres, and the Defense Ministry has 17.95 lakh acres.