Govt identifies 600 land parcels and buildings of BSNL, MTNL for direct sale to govt depts

The Centre aims to use land monetisation to reduce the debt of these telecom-sector PSUs.

These properties are expected to generate over Rs 20,000 crore for the government.

In a letter dated May 21, DoT Secretary Neeraj Mittal informed all secretaries in central ministries and chief secretaries of states and Union Territories that BSNL has created a website listing all the land parcels and buildings available for sale nationwide.

“I would request you to issue instructions for wide publicity of the website in various departments/PSUs/organizations under your ministry. This would help Govt. organizations, who are in need of such properties in availing benefit from the scheme of direct sale from PSU to govt organisation,” Mittal said in the letter, reported Moneycontrol.

BSNL has a nationwide asset base, while MTNL's properties are located in Delhi and Mumbai, many in prime locations.

The government has earmarked over 100 MTNL properties for direct sale via auction, including 48 properties in Delhi and 52 in Maharashtra.

Notable properties include those in Connaught Place (New Delhi), the renowned MTNL Telephone House in Prabhadevi (Mumbai), and the Telephone Bhavan in Colaba (Mumbai), along with properties in Powai, Andheri, Bandra, Mulund, Vashi, and Worli in Mumbai.

Additionally, more than 530 buildings and land parcels have been identified in other states across the country.

Last year, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) informed the parliamentary standing committee on communications and IT that the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management had approved the monetization of BSNL assets worth Rs 18,200 crore and six MTNL properties valued at Rs 5,158 crore.

To revive BSNL and MTNL, the government has implemented several measures. In 2019, a revival package of Rs 69,021 crore was allocated to these firms to reduce their operating costs.

In 2022, an additional revival package of nearly Rs 1.64 lakh crore was introduced, focusing on injecting fresh capital, debt restructuring, viability gap funding for rural telephony, and other initiatives.