DoD fears Rs 50,000 cr gap in 10th plan divestment realisation

NEW DELHI: The Disinvestment Ministry is believed to have cautioned the government that it might not be possible to mop up more than Rs 25,000 crore during the Tenth Five Year Plan in case the divestment process proceeds in the present shape.
"If we slow down our phases like this, at this rate we would achieve another Rs 20,000 crore," the Ministry is understood to have said in a latest paper - "BPCL and HPCL -- Disinvestment Issues".
This would mean a shortfall of Rs 50,000 crore from the target of Rs 75,000-80,000 crore fixed as disinvestment proceeds in the Tenth Plan, it said adding this could translate into fiscal deficit going up by at least about two per cent.
The Ministry''s calculation is based on the presumption that disinvestment realisation would be just around Rs 5,000 crore during the current financial year, the first year of the Tenth Plan.
In the presentation, the ministry has apprehended that there would be a shortfall of about Rs 7,000 crore in the disinvestment proceeds during the current fiscal against the target of Rs 12,000 crore if the planned disinvestment in Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum could not be taken up.
Sources said that the current year''s shortfall in mopping up disinvestment proceeds could mean an additional impact of 0.3 per cent in the fiscal deficit.
So far during the current financial year, government has mopped up about Rs 3,700 crore through the disinvestment of government equity in PSUs and any further realisation could be possible only after various issues taken by the ministry to various fora are resolved.
While privatisation process in case of NALCO, National Fertilisers, Shipping Corporation of India were being delayed for some reason or other, Disinvestment Ministry is hopeful of starting the process for public offer of 25 per cent equity in Maruti Udyog.
Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment (CCD) has fixed a deadline of December 7 for taking a decision on the issue of disinvestment in oil PSUs HPCL and BPCL after the expiry of the three month deferment following sharp differences within the cabinet on the divestment issues.
Amid the ongoing uncertainty, a number of bidders have started withdrawing from the race from different PSUs, that prompted Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie to comment "how long the buyers will wait before a closed shop."