Babus stall Hindustan Zinc disinvestment

NEW DELHI: It's a company which can help the government mop up over Rs 20,000 crore through disinvestment in one go. But the Centre can do little about it as bureaucrats are refusing to put forward a proposal to sell the remaining 29.5% in Hindustan Zinc to Anil Agarwal's Vendanta group, which holds a 65% stake it acquired when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was in power.

While the original shareholders' agreement provided for the remaining shares to be sold to Sterlite (now Sesa Sterlite), bureaucrats are now refusing to go ahead with the stake sale, which had been held up by the UPA government.

"There is so much fear that no joint secretary or secretary is willing to sign the file out of worry that he may face action in future," said a source. The fear follows a series of action initiated against bureaucrats, some of whom had retired, under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Bureaucrats are worried that any complaint can land them in a spot of bother.

As a result, the bureaucrats are in favour of selling shares in small lots of 5% on stock exchanges even as the government grapples to find companies which can help it garner record disinvestment receipts this fiscal.