BSNL assets in State could be put up for sale
The Hindu
Consultants assess properties preparatory to next phase of asset monetisation
Even as the Union Government has listed for sale real estate assets of State-run telecom firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), it is also considering assets owned by the BSNL in Kerala for sale in the next phase of the asset monetisation plan. According to BSNL sources, consultants contracted by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had visited the State last week to assess the land to be put up for sale.
They had visited the BSNL Regional Telecom Training Centre (RTTC) located near Kaimanam in Thiruvananthapuram, which was considered by the department for a monetisation plan two years ago. Of the 29-acre land, 9.88 acres were then marked as sparable. On Saturday, BSNL properties in Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Bhavnagar, and Kolkata were posted for sale at a reserve price of about ₹660 crore. The asset monetisation plan is said to be part of the ₹69,000-crore revival scheme for the BSNL and the MTNL, which the Union Government had announced in October 2019.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.