Centre yet to find takers for surplus land in three PSUs

MINIMISING LIABILITIES

The National Democratic Alliance government has not been able to sell surplus land in at least three ailing stateowned companies, according to a note by the chemical and fertilizer ministry submitted to a Parliamentary panel earlier this month.

Two years ago, the union cabinet decided to sell land of four under-performing state-owned firms in the pharma business-Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL), Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited (RDPL) and Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited (BCPL)—to meet their outstanding liabilities. Last month, the chemical and fertlizers ministry under which these companies come informed the Parliamentary committee on Public Undertakings that there were no bidders for land of three companies and that the sale in RDPL is stuck in a legal tangle. Hindustan Times has reviewed the note.

Selling land is a popular and viable route for funding revival packages of state-owned companies or settling their dues. In this case, though there have been no takers for the land, which is in not-so-attractive locations and, in some cases, comes with squatters, said an official involved in the discussions who asked not to be identified.

“Central government, state government, leading PSUs (public sector undertakings), financial institutions were requested on 18.05.2017 separately to bid.

NEW DELHI:

Two years ago, the union cabinet decided to sell land of four under-performing state-owned firms in the pharma business to meet their outstanding liabilities. These were Hindustan Antibiotics Limited, Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited, Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited and Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited. Selling land is a popular and viable route for funding revival packages of stateowned companies.

NBCC invited Request for Quotations from government agencies for land of IDPL plant at Hyderabad, but no bids were received despite extension of date, “the ministry wrote in its note on IDPL. It had similar comments for BCPL and HAL. The government planned to close down IDPL and RDPL and find strategic buyers for the other two.

“The sale proceeds were meant to pay for outstanding liabilities and voluntary retirement and separation schemes,” said the ministry’s note. The land up for sale was located in Rishikesh, Hyderabad, Muzaffarabad (Bihar) and Bhubneshwar.

Bengal Chemicals was set up in 1901 and the HAL and IDPL came up in the early years of Independent India, but all these companies have fallen sick in the