Row over surplus lands at state enterprises

The industries ministry has rejected an estimate of the Privatisation Commission that the mills under the ministry have huge surplus lands to lease out.
In the face of disagreement between the two entities, a committee was formed yesterday to see whether the state enterprises have any excess land that can be leased out.
The decision came at a meeting of a panel, formed by the government in March this year to know about the state enterprises' surplus lands and lease the lands to the private sector for setting up mills.
"The committee will set a definition of surplus lands and determine the amount by consulting all stakeholders," said Board of Investment's Executive Chairman SA Samad, who chaired the meeting.
The five-member committee, headed by a director general at the Prime Minister's Office, has been asked to submit a report within a month. If needed, one additional month will be given.
Last year, the Privatisation Commission released an estimate that 39 state enterprises have 1,288 acres of unused lands and suggested that the government can lease out the unutilised lands to the private sector for setting up factories.
Based on the proposal of the commission, the government formed the panel, comprising representatives from the industries, jute and textiles and commerce ministries.
The committee in August asked these ministries to provide information on the excess lands under the enterprises they run.
The industries ministry informed the committee that mills under its three corporations -- Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation, Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation and Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation -- do not have any surplus land.
The commission earlier estimated that the mills under the industries ministry have 1,259 acres of surplus lands that can be leased out.
The commerce ministry also said the enterprises under its control do not have any surplus land, while the jute and textiles ministry did not send any information to the committee, according to the commission.
SA Samad of the Board of Investment said the entire exercise of the Privatisation Commission on the surplus lands has turned futile due to the disagreement between the ministries and the commission.
Chairman of the commission Mirza Abdul Jalil, however, said the commission had earlier published the survey findings but no ministry opposed the estimates then.
"We have estimated the surplus lands considering that each mill requires five acres of land on an average. The rest are surplus," said Jalil.
He said 257 industrial units, mainly mills, could be set up on the surplus lands estimated by the commission.
Following the survey, the commission also drafted rules on leasing out the state mills' surplus lands to private investors for a maximum of 35 years.