(LiveMint)
The government wants Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to sell its golf courses in Ahmedabad and Vadodara in Gujarat, sending the company into a tizzy as one of them has two producing oil wells, sources said. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has deemed golf courses and sports clubs owned by central public sector enterprises as ‘non-core’ assets and wants to monetise them.
A recent exercise by DIPAM to assess land banks and other non-core assets of government departments as well as central PSUs identified two of ONGC’s golf courses in Ahmedabad and Vadodara, as also a sports club owned by Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) in Chembur, Mumbai. Sources said the exercise identified only properties with real estate potential in prime cities while leaving out golf courses ONGC has in Ankleshwar in Gujarat and Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. It also did not prioritise the grand golf course Oil India Ltd (OIL) has in Assam and one ONGC has in the North-East.
