Mission Land Monetisation

The creation of the National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) to monetise surplus land and building assets of the government and the public sector is a landmark move whose success will solely depend on time-bound execution

- ASHISH SINHA

DID YOU KNOW THAT the defence ministry and Indian Railways are sitting on nearly 30 lakh acres of land between them? Also, that the central public sector undertakings (PSU) are holding a large amount of surplus, unused and under-used noncore assets including land and buildings with potential to generate trillions of rupees in revenues? Well, the government has for some time been thinking of monetising these assets to unlock their value particularly in case of CPSUs undergoing strategic disinvestment or closure.

After announcing its intentions to monetise surplus land in this year’s Union Budget, the government in March set up the National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) for undertaking monetisation of surplus land and building assets of not just central public sector enterprises (CPSE) but also other government agencies. NLMC has the mandate to execute the monetisation of land, which can be through direct sale or concession. So how will NLMC go about it? By when will it finish the job? What will be the role of private entities in NLMC?

TASK BEFORE NLMC

Monetise surplus land with CPSEs up for sale

Defence land: 17.78 lakh acre

Railway land: 11.8 lakh acre

CPSEs land: 3,400 acre

NLMC to hire from private sector

Big opportunity for realty sector

NLMC will need specialists

Defence & Railway Land