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No consensus on modalities of divestment

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, April 22

THE disinvestment process of the Government seems to have hit a roadblock with the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment (CCD) unable to reach a consensus on the modalities for disinvestment of Government equity in the public sector units taken up at its me eting on Saturday.

To find a way out of this impasse, the Department of Disinvestment is to hold fresh discussions with the respective Ministries.

According to sources, about eight proposals were taken up at today's meeting, which included Air India, Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation, Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd and National Mineral Development Corporation.

They noted that the decision to rework the modalities of disinvestment in the PSUs was taken after disagreements emerged between the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr. Sharad Yadav, and the Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, on how much equity the Gover nment should shed in Air India (AI) and Pawan Hans Helicopter Ltd.

When contacted after the meeting, Mr. Yadav refused to specify on whether there were any differences between him and the Finance Minister. ``I cannot comment on what took place in a Cabinet meeting. There is only one official person to brief the media on a Cabinet meeting. Please direct all your queries to him. Whatever has been told to you must be correct,'' the Minister said.

On when the meeting with the Minister of Disinvestment, Mr. Arun Jaitley, is to be held to decide on disinvestment of the PSUs under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Mr. Yadav said this will be fixed in due course. ``Besides, the Ministry of Civil Aviatio n is not the only Ministry which is involved in the disinvestment of PSUs. Therefore, the concurrence of all the concerned departments will have to be taken before a decision can be reached,'' he said.

Addressing an official press conference, the Minister for Information Technology and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, was quick to say that there were no difference among the various constituents of the Government on continuing with the policy of disinvestment.

``There is a complete consensus on the policy of disinvestment in the Government. However, there cannot be a fixed rule on how much of Government equity should be in a PSU. To arrive at a figure, the Minister of Disinvestment will meet with the Ministers of various Ministries and we hope to have a consensus by mid-May,'' Mr. Mahajan said. Sources said that the CCD was to consider seven-eight proposals including those relating to AI and Pawan Hans.

Justifying the process of consultation, the Minister said that several issues had to be considered when a proposal for disinvestment was put forward, including whether foreigners should be allowed into the sector, the time period of the contract and the fate of the existing employees had to be decided.

Maintaining that the Government was committed to the disinvestment process, Mr. Mahajan said that it looked at it as a way of making the PSUs stronger. ``Under no circumstances will the workforce be reduced through disinvestment. The process will be empl oyee-friendly. But we have to ensure that the PSUs survive so that the workforce can remain in place,'' the Minister said.