Centre appoints NLMC interim head; to initiate surplus land monetisation

The Centre, as part of its efforts to make National Land Management Corporation (NLMC) operational, has appointed a joint secretary to the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) interim chief executive officer (CEO) of the special purpose vehicle, which has been tasked with monetising the surplus land and buildings of public sector undertakings (PSUs).

The interim CEO’s job is learnt to have gone to Sanjay Kumar Jain, and the government has appointed its nominees to the board of the corporation.

The government looks to initiate the process of monetising 3,479 acres of surplus land, identified by nine PSUs, and building assets, an official said.

Other PSUs and government departments have been asked to prepare a list of assets that can be monetised through NLMC.

NLMC will own, hold, manage and monetise such land and assets of the PSUs that are to be closed down and the surplus non-core land assets of government-owned companies under strategic disinvestment.

The directors of NLMC consist of Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) Additional Secretary Rajesh Kumar Chaudhry, the joint secretary handling asset monetisation at the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, and nominees from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, and Department of Heavy Industries.

According to the structure finalised, NLMC’s board will have 13 directors, of whom seven would be government officials and six from the private sector.

The board will meet soon to approve HR-related policies to kickstart the appointment of a full-time CEO and other employees. It will finalise the guidelines and criteria for selecting professionals from the private sector in the fields of real estate, investment banking, construction, and the legal sector. Their hiring will be similar to what the government-owned National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) follows.

Just as K V Kamath was roped in as chairman of National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID), the Centre is looking to appoint a professional to head the land  special purpose vehicle, another official said.

NLMC was incorporated on June 3 as a wholly-owned Government of India company with an initial authorised share capital of Rs 5,000 crore and paid-up share capital of Rs 150 crore.

It will also advise and assist government departments, statutory bodies/authorities, autonomous bodies, and corporations on under-utilised non-core assets.