New Delhi, Jun 6 (IANS): The Cabinet on Wednesday approved revised guidelines for time-bound closure of sick and loss-making central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) and disposal of assets with the first priority for utilisation of land under closure for affordable housing.

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the revised guidelines would reduce delays in implementation of closure plans for sick or loss making CPSEs.

The new guidelines will replace the guidelines issued by the Department of Public Enterprises in September 2016.

"The guidelines give first priority for utilisation of land of CPSEs under closure for affordable housing to the poor," Prasad said.

These guidelines would provide a broad framework for expeditious completion of various processes and procedures for closure of CPSEs by "laying down important milestones in the closure process along with timelines, outlining the responsibilities of the concerned Ministries/ Departments/ CPSE, etc., in the process", an official statement said.

Since there are employees working in these CPSEs, the government has decided that closure should not cause hardship to them and has now laid down a uniform policy to give workers VRS at 2007 notional pay scale irrespective of the pay scale in which they are working.

"By assigning priority to Affordable Housing it would make available land parcels of sick/loss making CPSEs under closure for the Government flagship programme of Affordable Housing being managed by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs," the statement added.