Air India properties owned by government to be on sale

The government has decided to sell some of Air India’s real estate properties owned by it. These assets are on a 99-year lease from the government. Properties where the government has the ownership will go back to the government, which will sell it on behalf of Air India. Two such properties in Delhi owned by the urban development ministry have already been identified. One is the 4-acre land at Baba Kharak Singh Marg near Connaught Place and the other is the residential colony in Vasant Vihar. These properties are on 99-year lease to Air India and the money earned through the sale of these assets would be used to clear debt. The plan for the Vasant Vihar residential colony is to hand it over to NBCC Ltd, which will redevelop it. The plan for the land near Connaught Place has not been decided yet. According to the turnaround plan approved by the Manmohan Singh government in 2012, Air India was to monetise its assets across the world and was estimated to earn about Rs 5,000 crore that would be used to repay debt.