The Cabinet, on Thursday, have its approval to sell Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd's (now Tata Communications) surplus land. The sale may fetch the exchequer Rs 6,150 crore.
As part of the sale plan, the Government will hold 51.12 per cent in Hemisphere Properties India Ltd (HPIL), the company into which the 773 acres of surplus land will be transferred to.
The company will appoint a consultant having expertise in handling company law, land revenue and tax matters.
The decision is a step towards resolving the 10-year-old issue. In 2002, VSNL's majority stake was acquired by the Tata Group.
But the 773 acres spread over five locations in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune, was not part of the deal.
The DoT had proposed to hive off the surplus land held by VSNL into a separate company to unlock the value by selling it.
However, the process hit rough weather with Tatas raising a number of issues, including clarity on who will bear the cost of creating the new company.
The resolution of this issue is key to Tata Communications expansion plans.