The union cabinet has approved the sale of surplus land of Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL), Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited (RDPL) and Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited (BCPL), as would be required, to meet their outstanding liabilities. In this way, the national assets would be utilized in the best national interest.

The sale would be through open competitive bidding to government agencies and the outstanding liabilities will be met from the sale proceeds. Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) / Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) will also be implemented in these PSUs, according to a statement issued after Wednesday's cabinet meeting.

The remaining part of the land will be managed in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of Investment & Public Assets Management (DIPAM) and Department of Public Enterprises (DPE).

After meeting the liabilities, steps will be taken to close IDPL and RDPL. The option of strategic sale will be explored for HAL and BCPL. The Department of Pharmaceuticals, the administrative department for these undertakings, will take time bound follow-up action.