The telecom commission, the apex body of the department of telecommunication (DoT), will decide on July 5 whether to hive off or demerge into a resulting company the 773.13 acre of surplus land of erstwhile VSNL (now Tata Communications). According to sources, the demerger or hiving off of VSNL’s surplus land into a resulting company is among the items on the agenda of the telecom commission which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday.

Earlier, a panel set up by telecom minister Kapil Sibal had recommended that the DoT park surplus land controlled by Tata Communications into a new realty company, the first of three possible methods that had been proposed for the separation of the land from the company.

The scheme for setting up of a National Optical Fibre Network for broadband connectivity to Panchayats and Trai?s recommendations on spectrum management and licensing framework are also on the agenda of the commission, sources said.

The three-member panel investigating the delay in the demerger of the 773 acre of surplus land after the privatisation of VSNL, the former long-distance monopoly, has also held the Tatas responsible for the impasse. It has said the government must acquire 51.12% stake in this realty firm and nominate majority directors in it.

Tata group company Panatone Finvest had acquired a controlling stake in Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) on February 13, 2002, for R1,439 crore as part of the disinvestment programme of the then NDA government. Besides, the Tatas had also made an open offer to acquire an additional 20% stake from the market.

The government had asked for expression of interest to sell off the surplus land lying with the DoT at five sites – Dighi (Pune), Halishahar (Kolkata), Chattarpur (New Delhi), Greater Kailash (New Delhi) and Padianallur (Chennai). Tata Communications chairman Subodh Bhargava had written to Kapil Sibal over disinvestment of TCL?s surplus land.