There is a consensus among the ruling elite; think-tanks funded and promoted by foreign donor agencies and multinational corporations; and policy-making government bodies and institutions dominated by giant corporate interests and powers that selling the national assets of crucial importance at throwaway prices to overseas majors is the only option before them with a view to rejuvenate the country’s moribund economy. Though they are accountable to the people, the nation and the Constitution, yet they are not serving the real masters whom they are suppose to represent, on whose behalf they are working and with whose money at their disposal they are living like princes, kings and Maharajas. They have virtually become puppets in the hands of corporate colonialism.
Public sector enterprises, once termed as ‘Modern Temples of India’ by Jawahar Lal Nehru, are now putting up their surplus (?) land for sale. This is being done in order to ameliorate them from chronic sickness. The following is the list of a few public sector enterprises which are readying themselves for the sale of their commercial land properties at prime locations in the country in order to revive themselves–
The government has already sold some of the commercial land properties of public sector undertakings like National Textile Corporation (NTC), Hindustan Antibiotics, HMT and Praga Tools Limited. It is now in the process of further sale of the surplus (?) commercial land properties of these companies. Out of the 26 public sector enterprises for which the government has approved the revival package, more than 15 enterprises have surplus real estates including commercial land properties, buildings,office spaces, hospitals, schools, etc.
More than 10 states and the UnionTerritory of Chandigarh have earmarked commercial land sites at prime locations for setting up modern terminal markets for trading in fruits, vegetables and other farm produce. State governments and the Administration of the Union Territory of Chandigarh are planning to handover vast tracts of commercial land properties to large Indian and multinational corporate houses/groups for establishing and operating agricultural mandis, which will be like hubs linked to a number of collection centres, constituting the spokes. This model will not only oust a host of wholesalers, small shop-keepers, vandors; and footpath /street /corner /neighbourhood sellers of fruits and vegetables from the scheme, but also pave the way for contract farming, a precurs or to farming by agribusiness corporations. Thus, it will displace small trackers/retailers as well as peasants from their occupations. For the consolidation of corporate colonialism, the government is selling not only land properties under its possession to companies but also acquiring huge tracts of farmland for them.
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