Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The 2002 Hindustan Zinc stake sale was an open and shut case. CBI trying to re-open it defies logic and facts.
Is the CBI,probing into a staggering range of irregularities committed under this governments watch,sitting idle? Only excessive time on its hands,or a bumbling attempt to appear politically even-handed,could explain the agencys adventurism to probe the 2002 disinvestment of Hindustan Zinc Limited HZL under the NDA government. At a time when the government is trying to sell its residual stake in HZL,the CBI has asked for the the entire record pertaining to the disinvestment and details of officers who were associated with it. Given the facts of the case,the move raises questions about the agencys priorities,if not its motives.
It is also worth keeping in mind how PSUs can turn around,post-privatisation,and the gains that accrue to the economy as a result,from more taxes,more employment,more extraction of minerals. The converse is equally true,though that loss is rarely taken into account. In HZLs case,the companys share price rose from Rs 1.68 in the year before Sterlite bought it in 2002,to Rs 130.60,taking the companys market valuation from Rs 706 crore to over Rs 55,000 crore,a 78-fold increase. Sales have risen over 10 times and profits 101 times in the last 11 years,while investments rose from minus Rs 3 crore the year Sterlite bought it,to Rs 3,200 crore in 2012-13. By no stretch of the imagination is that a bad deal.
