NLMC: Utilising unused land

Background:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the setting up of National Land Monetization Corporation to monetise surplus land and building assets of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and other agencies linked to the Government.
This is to be fully owned by the Centre, under the administrative jurisdiction of the Finance Ministry.
The NLMC will have an initial authorised share capital of Rs 5,000 crore and paid-up share capital of Rs 150 crore.
At present, CPSEs hold considerable surplus, unused and under-used non-core assets in the nature of land and buildings.
With monetisation of these non-core assets, the Government will be able to generate substantial revenues by monetising unused and under-used assets.

CPSE and its surplus land:

The issue with the CPSE is that the land which they are holding does not entirely belong to them. They are given by the state under certain conditions and if those conditions are not fulfilled the state has the right to take them back.
Those lands that completely belong to the PSU must be identified and they are to be utilised for monetisation.
Railway has 4.78 lakh hectares,out of which more than .5 lakh hectare are surplus.
These lands are along the railway tracks.
The railways has planned to monetise these lands by allowing the setting up of solar panels along the track and completely generate solar power for railways by 2030.
Railway has Rail Development Land authority.

Advantages:

Monetisation not only brings money to the government but also generates a lot of economic activities.
It has been given a mandate to hold the land, to own the land, to manage the land and then to monetise the land.
Better knowledge and presence of technical experts of land and monetisation process.

Challenges:

The encroachment of CPSE lands is going to be a big challenge.
The identification of land titles that completely belong to the CPSE is another challenge.
Dispute resolution might take years in case there is no clear title.
Demarcation of role between DIPAM(Dept. Of Investment and Public Asset Management) and NLMC.

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