NEW DELHI: The government has pulled up the management of state-run telecom companies Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) for the slow pace of their land monetisation process, especially in the metro cities. They have released only Rs 550 crore from land monetisation in the past few years, compared with the estimated potential of over Rs 20,000 crore.
“BSNL and MTNL have been asked to speed up the process of land monetisation as the Centre is looking to reduce the debt of both telecom-sector PSUs,” a senior official aware of the matter told ET.
Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba called a review meeting with the senior officials of BSNL and MTNL earlier this week to take an update of the monetisation process. “They have been asked to prepare a detailed circle-wise report, with land parcel and reason for the delay or possible hurdles, by May 31,” another official said.
During the meeting, executives from the state-run operators highlighted issues around taxation, including on unearned income, and various permissions required at the state and local levels for the slow monetisation process.
“The management of both BSNL and MTNL said that there are significant issues which are creating hurdles including permissions from state governments, local bodies, and in many cases title ownership of the assets,” the second official said.
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 monetisation of BSNL assets worth Rs 18,200 crore and six MTNL properties valued at Rs 5,158 crore.
In May last year, both PSUs were asked to identify at least 10 properties in each of the 22 telecom circles. The circle chief general managers (CGMs) of the companies were given three months to identify assets that fall within the ambit of their board and could be monetised.
The two companies were asked to make a detailed list of circle-wise land parcels, with proper valuation as per the current market rate.
“The first task was to identify the land parcel with the current market valuation as per the existing circle rate. But even almost eight months after the directive, this is yet to be done,” the first official said.
Small land parcels, valued below Rs 10 crore, do not require the approval of the Group of Ministers (GoM) for sale, the official said. This is done to reduce the time taken for clearances.
Land valued between Rs 10 crore and Rs 100 crore will require GoM’s approval for monetisation. The Department of Public Enterprises manages monetisation of land valued at over Rs 100 crore.
The government has been taking various steps for the revival of BSNL and MTNL.
In 2019, a revival package worth Rs 69,021 crore was provided to the firms that helped bring down their operating costs. Another revival package in 2022, amounting to around Rs 1.64 lakh crore, focused on infusing fresh capital, restructuring debt, viability gap funding for rural telephony, etc. As a result, BSNL and MTNL have started earning operational profits from 2020-21.
In addition, the Union Cabinet in June 2023 approved the allotment of 4G/5G spectrum to BSNL with the total outlay of around Rs 89,047 crore through equity infusion.
