The Hindu Business Line : Arbitration forum for PSU rows

IN a bid to help public sector enterprises (PSEs) resolve disputes with private sector companies and entities in the co-operative sector without going through the existing expensive and time-consuming court litigations, the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) has launched a formal conciliation and arbitration forum to deal with such disputes.

Till now, there was no mechanism for settling such disputes other than opting for court settlements. The forum has been named as SCOPE Forum of Conciliation and Arbitration (SCFA) and will provide redressal of disputes arising out of various contracts and agreements between public and private sector companies, according to a SCOPE release here.

The forum will comprise panelists having expertise of systems and working of public sector to resolve arbitration cases faster.

As of now, the 240 Central PSEs are involved in thousands of litigations, both in Indian as well as foreign currency, running into thousands of crores. For example, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) alone has over 120 cases and an equal number in the pipeline involving a sum of over Rs 500 crore under arbitration. Also, ONGC has over 200 cases involving over $50 million (about Rs 500 crore) pending for periods ranging between two and five years.

According to SCOPE officials, the forum will have a mandate to finish arbitrations, preferably within six months, but not later than one year.

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