BSNL to sell portion of CTO Compound, other land

By Niraj Chinchkhede

As part of its revival attempt, the loss-making Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has decided to sell out three properties in its Nagpur Business Area (Nagpur district). The State-owned telecom company on Monday said it is in advanced stage of selling land in CTO Compound in Civil Lines, a godown store in Koradi and a strategically located open land in Katol in the district. BSNL’s CTO Compound, located in the heart of the city and an iconic landmark, is spread over an area of over 5,000 square metre. The company has identified a sizeable portion of the property for monetisation. Rohit Sharma, Chief General Manager of Maharashtra and Goa Circle of BSNL, confirmed that the public sector undertaking had identified various assets spread across the country, including the three properties in the Nagpur Business Area and was preparing a strategy for its sale. “Under this initiative, we are in the advanced stage of monetising the three assets. We hope to complete all the formalities by the end of the current calendar year,” he said while interacting here with the mediapersons.

Sharma said that the proposal of land monetisation was pending with the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) which will soon decide the market value of the properties. “Once it is finalised, the properties will be offered to buyers through auction,” he added. It is worth mentioning here that BSNL had managed to bring down its expenses by way of implementing a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) scheme in 2019 when nearly 70 per cent of the eligible staff members opted for the scheme. This has left a huge space of BSNL vacant and unutilised. On the other hand, the company has been incurring significant losses for the past five years, with no net profit recorded. It has a high debt burden, which further strains its financial situation.

Compared to private players in the telecom sector, BSNL is lagging in offering 4G services and struggling to keep up with investments in infrastructure and technology. This has put the company at a competitive disadvantage. However, in June 2023 the Government of India had approved a Rs 89,047 crore revival package for the loss-making company to help it deploy 4G and 5G services. The Government has also approved a proposal of monetisation of surplus land and non-core assets of BSNL to unlock its value. It is important to note that in 2021, the erstwhile State-owned air carrier Air India had sold a prime location plot in Civil Lines, at a stone’s throw away distance from CTO Compound.