Cabinet Approves Sale of Surplus Land of 4 Pharma PSUs

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved need-based sale of surplus land of Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd (HAL), Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (IDPL), Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (RDPL) and Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BCPL) to meet their outstanding liabilities.

NEW DELHI: The move will help the national assets to be utilised in the best national interest, said a cabinet communique.

"The sale would be through open competitive bidding to government agencies and the outstanding liabilities will be met from the sale proceeds. Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) and Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) will also be implemented in these Public Sector Undertakings," it said.

The remaining part of the land will be managed in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of Investment & Public Assets Management (DIPAM) and Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), as per the statement.

The government further said that steps will be taken to close IDPL and RDPL after meeting the liabilities.

"The option of strategic sale will be explored for HAL and BCPL. The Department of Pharmaceuticals, the administrative department for these undertakings, will take time bound follow-up action," added the statement.