Govt working on modalities for VSNL land use: DoT

The government today said it is working on modalities to take a decision on the surplus land owned by international long distance phone company VSNL, now owned by the Tata group.

"There was a Cabinet decision to hive off all the land assets into a separate company. We are working on the modalities. Then we will take further action," Telecom Secretary R Chandrasekhar told reporters here.

Tata group company Panatone Finvest Ltd had acquired controlling stake in Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) on February 13, 2002, for Rs 1,439 crore as part of the disinvestment programme of the then NDA government.

However, the company's surplus land of 773.13 acres was separated from the disinvestment bids and was to be disposed of as per the Share Holding Agreement (SHA) and Share Purchase Agreement (SPA).

Earlier this year, there was a big debate on the issue and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal ordered a probe into the matter by a high-level committee, headed by DoT Additional Secretary SR Rao.

The UPA government has invited bids to hire consultants to ascertain the value of the land and initiate the process to sell it.