The Congress on Monday questioned the Central government’s proposal to reduce its stake in the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), a public sector undertaking (PSU) under the Indian Railways, and asserted that the PSU had been consistently earning profits in the past 10 years.
Addressing a press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, party spokesperson Gourav Vallabh charged the railways with changing the terms of leasing its land to CONCOR in a way that would put the company at a financial disadvantage and eventually affect its market value.
“The Modi government has given its nod to sell 30.8% out of its 54.8% holding in CONCOR and management control to strategic buyers. CONCOR has over 60 Inland Container Depots and 24 are situated on railway land,” Mr. Vallabh told reporters. He pointed out that the company had earned a net profit of ₹ 503 crore.
“Once decided for disinvestment, why the government is considering changing land licensing fees (LLF) from the existing 6% to 2%-3% and lease period from 5 years to 35 years? It is of more significance when Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone says ‘acquiring CONCOR will be a breeze’ and ‘it can easily acquire strategic target CONCOR’,” he stated.
“How can the railway land acquired from farmers at concessional rates, and in many cases, farmers donated this land free of cost to the railways for expansion, maintenance and development of rail infrastructure, can be handed over to a private party for commercial use in a backdoor arrangement,” he added.
