The government on Wednesday approved revised guidelines for time-bound closure of sick and loss-making central public sector enterprises and the disposal of their movable and immovable assets.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

The guidelines accord first priority to utilisation of land of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) under closure for affordable housing as per the relevant guidelines of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

"The revised guidelines would reduce delays in implementation of closure plans of sick/loss making CPSEs. These guidelines will replace the guidelines issued by the Department of Public Enterprises in September 2016.

"These guidelines 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 time-lines, outlining the responsibilities of the concerned Ministries/Department/CPSE etc in the process," an official statement said.

They also provide for advanced preparatory action to be taken by administrative ministry/department or CPSE, preparation of closure proposal, settlement of statutory and other liabilities of the CPSE under closure and modalities for disposal of movable and immovable assets in a time-bound manner.