DoD seeks more powers

"Decision making now is very slow and can impact the entire disinvestment process… we want the entire process to be streamlined," DoD Secretary Pradeep Baijal told PTI yesterday when contacted.

Declining to comment on the CCD agenda, Baijal said issues like appointment of global advisor for selling government equity in a PSU takes quite some time as the proposal moves from one ministry to another.

Ideally the powers to appoint global advisor should be vested with the newly created ministry, he indicated, saying that "DoD is accountable for all its actions." If the decision making process is not hastened it can also affect the attainment of Rs 10,000 crore divestment target set for the current financial year, he said.

DoD has also asked the government to clear more PSUs for disinvestment at the earliest, failing which the target would not be achieved, sources said.

Meanwhile, the core group of secretaries (COS), headed by Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar, met here on Friday to discuss the issues and agenda for the forthcoming meeting of CCD. When contacted most of the secretaries declined to comment on the deliberations, but sources said that no decision was taken at the COS meeting.

COS is believed to have left decisions on various disinvestment issues, including the names and number of PSUs to be included for divestment during the current financial year, for the CCD, headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Sources said that DoD would bring its own proposals for the current financial year before CCD to take a final decision on the PSUs from the highest decision making body. The process of consultation between DoD and a number of administrative ministries has failed to evolve a consensus on the quantum of disinvestment, despite the government’s announcement that all state owned PSUs, other than those of strategic importance like Defence, Railways and Atomic energy, would be privatised.

Petroleum Minister Ram Naik has already demanded a strategic status for oil PSUs even though DoD is believed to have proposed privatisation of at least two companies in the petroleum sector.