The Hindu Business Line : Kerala yet to submit plan to take over FACT

THE Kerala Government is yet to submit a concrete proposal for taking over Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT), which has been put up for privatisation as part of the Centre's disinvestment programme.

After the Centre announced its decision to disinvest 51 per cent of its equity in FACT through strategic sale, the State Government had told the Disinvestment Ministry that it was keen to convert the Central PSU into a joint venture unit of the State with co-operative sector.

"The Centre has not received any concrete proposal from the Kerala Government for converting FACT into a joint venture unit of the State Government with co-operative sector. Letters containing mere expressions of a general intent for sustaining FACT in the co-operative sector have been received from the Kerala Government," the Union Disinvestment Minister, Mr Arun Shourie, said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Mr Shourie also said that the Centre has called off the process of disinvestment in the loss-making Hindustan Cables Ltd (HCL) due to lack of interest from potential bidders. The Centre had planned to sell 74 per cent of its equity in HCL to a strategic partner along with transfer of management control.

The Minister also informed the Rajya Sabha that 8,458 employees had availed of voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), while another 918 employees had retired and 1,060 left for other reasons from a total strength of 44,238 employees in nine disinvested PSUs, 15 disinvested hotels of ITDC and two hotels of Hotel Corporation of India (HCI).

"As against a total of 10,436 separations, 1,478 new employees have been recruited by these entities, giving a net reduction of 8,958 employees or around 20 per cent of the employees at the time of disinvestment," Mr Shourie disclosed.

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