In this VRS, your take-home deal means take your home

While the houses have been transferred in the names of employees, in exchange for a monthly lease rent, the arrangement is subject to endorsement by courts/competent authority. Meanwhile, the Government is holding the money due to each employee in a notional, non-interest-paying ‘‘security deposit’’. In case the liquidator or court/authority strikes down the arrangement, the houses will be transferred back to the PSUs and the money in the deposits handed over to the employees.

the deal is upheld, the employee will get the house, plus the money according to what is due to him.

Housing of top executives, including the general managers of the two companies, is not part of the offer.

The Ministry of Fertilisers and Chemicals has placed over 15,000 FCI and HFC houses on offer under the scheme. While the FCI estates lie in Gorakhpur, Ramagundam, Sindri and Talcher, HFC houses are spread over Barauni, Haldia and Durgapur.

Since there is more housing than staff, surplus quarters have been offered to external agencies, including the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The two PSUs owed money to the MHA’s Central Industrial Security Force. The CISF is also happy with the arrangement as it has been looking around for new estates to raise training bases.

The cashless deals have been clinched even as the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) agonises about its course of action and a liquidator may take several months to be appointed.

‘‘The issue isn’t one of saving some money on severance. The houses are under a serious threat of forced occupation by local goons. The lease scheme, as well as the incentive to the MHA to locate police forces in our colonies, will help us salvage the situation,’’ points out a ministry official.

As of March 2002, FCI had accumulated losses of Rs 7,693 crore. The estimated cost of its revival—investment, including non-plan loan, plus government sacrifices (write-off of outstanding loan and provision of outstanding liability)—as of March 2001 was Rs 8,165 crore.

The cost of closure was Rs 7,305 crore. Annual salary estimates (as of September 2002) were 70 crore.

In the case of HFC, cumulative losses were Rs 6,432 crore, with the cost of revival as of March 2001 Rs 5,151 crore. The annual salary bill was Rs 47 crore.