GVR warns govt against PSUs sell-off

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 21: Recommending the creation of a National Shareholding Trust (NST) for managing these profit-making public sector gi...

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 21: Recommending the creation of a National Shareholding Trust (NST) for managing these profit-making public sector giants, he told a roundtable conference on Disinvestment of PSUs "Government should keep aside 15-20 good blue chip companies from the privatisation process and further strengthen them."

Ramakrishna warned that these PSUs could become "Zamindaris" (personal fiefdom) of ministers if government remained the single largest shareholder after disinvestment in these companies below 50 per cent for taking them out of the ambit of statutory controls.

He told the conference, organised by the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), that government could transfer its shares in these PSUs to the proposed NST to take them out from the controls of Parliament and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for greater freedom.

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Ramakrishna, who demitted office on November 30, complained that the government had remained incommunicado on the fate of the commission, said he had not recommended earmarking of 10 per cent of sell-off proceeds for a separate fund contrary to what was made out by government in Parliament.

New Minister for disinvestment Arun Jaitley had said that government would earmark 10 per cent for disinvestment fund whereas the commission had recommended that entire proceeds should be put in a separate fund for specified purposes.

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