The Telecom Commission plans to give a loan of Rs 20 million to Hemisphere Properties India (HPIL), a Tata Group company, to appoint a consultant to finalise the terms of hiving off the surplus land owned by Tata Communications Limited.
The land will then be transferred to HPIL. Prior to this, the Telecom Commission had decided to acquire a 51.12 per cent stake in HPIL.
The company also plans to appoint a consultant with expertise in company law, land revenue and tax-related issues.
This issue has been ongoing since 2003, as the numerous discussions between the Tata Group and DoT failed.
Prior to this, the Tata Group had created HPIL, with an authorised capital of Rs 2.5 million to hold the surplus land.
In July 2011, the Tata Group had informed the government that selling the surplus land could garner revenues of about Rs 61.56 billion. This was the first time the value of the land had been estimated since 2003.
Tata Communications had said that this estimated value is based on prevailing government rates and also takes into account that the land cannot be used for residential purposes. The company added that the stamp duty and registration costs of the demerger stood at Rs 4.27 billion.
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