HPCL, BPCL sell-off may be deferred by 3 years

MUMBAI: Disinvestment of HPCL and BPCL may be delayed by atleast three years because of "existing hurdles", Prime Minister''s Economic Advisory Council Committee member and BJP national executive member Jagdish Shetigar said on Thursday.
"The disinvestment process is likely to get delayed due to the Lok Sabha elections next year and lack of appropriate communication with the public", Shetigar told reporters.
It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had directed the Union government to take parliamentary approval for the disinvestment of HPCL and BPCL.
There was also apprehension among the NDA leaders over the disinvestment process as the next Lok Sabha elections were approaching near, he added.

He said the delay in disinvestment would also hamper the government scheme for social upheaval as it was decided to spend one-third of the proceeds from disinvestment for the social sector.
He said there was apprehension that the disinvestment of public sector units could pose problems at times of crisis and added that the government can nationalise them whenever needed, as was done with the banks.
In the case of the petroleum companies being disinvested, he said the government always kept a reserve of petroleum products of 40 days in advance.
Apart from it, the government has identified four strategic places for storage of the oil in the country in times of an emergency, the economic expert added.
Shetigar said going by past experiences in the disinvestment process there was need for a change in the evaluation process of the company from the traditional method.
Instead he suggested that the government should close down the company and then sell off the assets.