The Hindu Business Line : Disinvestment panel to be wound up

THE Congress-led UPA Government has decided to wind-up the Disinvestment Commission. However, a body to advise the Government on disinvestment, among other things, would be re-invented through the formation of a Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE).

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had told the conference of PSU chief executives held recently in Delhi that the Government would soon constitute the BRPSE, which would advise on restructuring of PSUs.

The new board would suggest options including disinvestment, outright sale or closure.

The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, had announced the creation of BRPSE while presenting the Union Budget for 2004-05.

The formation of BRPSE was also outlined in the national common minimum programme (NCMP) of the UPA Government, which said that efforts would be made to modernise and restructure sick public sector companies and revive sick industry.

While chronically loss-making companies will either be sold off or closed after all workers have been given their legitimate dues and compensation.

The UPA Government will induct private industry to turn around companies that have potential for revival, the NCMP had said. "Generally, profit-making companies will not be privatised", it stated.

The UPA Government has now relegated the erstwhile Disinvestment Ministry into a department functioning under the Finance Ministry in line with the changed priority on disinvestment.

The entire team of Disinvestment Commission, including its Chairman Mr R.H. Patil, and four part-time members had tendered their resignations in May, rendering the advisory body defunct with only the member Secretary, Mr Amitabh Bhattacharya, remaining.

Mr Patil and part-time members Mr T.L. Shankar, Mr N.V. Iyer, Mr V.V. Desai and Mr K.R.S. Murthy submitted their resignations en-masse to Mr Arun Shourie before he demitted office as the Disinvestment Minister after the NDA Government was voted out of power.

"The new Government has accepted the resignations submitted by the Commission members. It has decided not to re-constitute the Commission. Instead, it will take the form of the BRPSE", Government sources said.

The Disinvestment Commission was reconstituted in 2001, initially for a two-year period, and was given a year's extension till October 2004. It had submitted recommendations on 38 PSU cases apart from review recommendations on Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, Manganese Ore (India) Ltd, Rites and Project Engineering Corporation (PEC).

At the time of submitting its resignation, the Commission was working on 13 new PSU cases including Concor, the sources said.

The Disinvestment Commission was first set up in 1996-97 under the chairmanship of Mr G.V. Ramakrishna by the United Front Government.

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