Date:20/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/20/stories/2008112059330300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Antony urged to bring HSL under MoD

Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Bharatiya Port and Shipyard Mazdoor Mahasangh, a BMS-affiliate, on Wednesday urged Defence Minister A.K. Antony to bring the Hindustan Shipyard Limited under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence.

BPSMM working president K. Bhavani Shankarudu and general secretary M. Jagadeeswara Rao, who met the Defence Minister in New Delhi, brought to his notice various recommendations on the HSL being brought under the Ministry and sought the use of his good offices to take a favourable decision by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

They said for long the Government had been considering the move and in this direction had appointed a Group of Ministers on the revival of HSL.

GoM recommendations

The two leaders said the GoM after an in-depth study came to the conclusion that HSL should be brought under the MoD and recommended accordingly. They said various committees headed by Members of Parliament V.K. Malhotra, Madanlal Khurana and N. Janardhan Reddy had also recommended the same step.

In view of the recommendations, the Government had referred the issue to the CCEA with which a decision had been pending.