Survey kicks off to monetise government land bank

New Delhi: Under Modi 2.0, an extensive survey of government-owned properties — residential, land and buildings –– has begun to rationalise their use and monetise them to generate revenue.

The Cabinet Secretariat has written to all central ministries, departments, public sector undertakings (PSUs) and autonomous organisations to collate a list of properties owned by them.

The exercise was initiated with a letter dated June 12 which directed all departments to send separate lists of buildings (including residential properties) and land owned by the respective organisations to the Cabinet Secretariat. The letter, reviewed by ET, says, “All ministries/ departments, PSUs and autonomous organisations must compile details of land and buildings, including residential houses owned by them, with a view to rationalise their usage/ disposal.”

Two proformas have been circulated to the ministries to give separate details. The details sought for buildings owned by government departments include location, building type like residential or office or mixed land use, built-up area in square metres, floor area ratio (FAR), whether it is fully occupied and, if not, then the details of the unoccupied portion.

Sources said the survey has been initiated to ensure that government-owned buildings and land are optimally used and the government can generate revenue from the unoccupied property by leasing it out.

In the case of unutilised land, the government is planning to monetise it using different models.

These could include leasing it out to private developers to build affordable housing complexes on a certain part and developing the remaining land for commercial purposes.

Another model would be to develop public infrastructure including a shopping complex depending on the location of the unoccupied land.

This was also mentioned by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech when she said, “Large public infrastructure can be built on land parcels held by central ministries and central public sector enterprises all across the country.

Through innovative instruments such as joint development and concession, public infrastructure and affordable housing will be taken up.” A survey is the first step towards this and the government is likely to wrap up the survey by June-end.