Legal roadblocks continue in disinvestment process: Govt

NEW DELHI: The Disinvestment Ministry has regretted the spate of litigations relating to privatisation, saying legal roadblocks are continuing despite the favourable Supreme Court judgement on Balco.

"We are facing three kinds of road blocks -- internal, external and legal... These are delaying the disinvestment process... In the last two years we have been able to disinvest less than one per cent of government equity in PSUs and at this rate it will take us at least 200 years," Disinvestment Secretary Pradeep Baijal said here today.

Addressing a CII seminar on ''legal reforms in infrastructure - the way ahead'', he said financial constraints facing the economy had left the government with no alternative than resorting to disinvestment and it would be in the national interest to speed up the process.

He said the Chinese government aggressively pursued privatisation which led to laying off of 50 million workers but in India resistance was felt within the government, not to mention the opposition from political parties and media.

"Despite the Balco judgement (by Supreme Court) litigation and PILs are causing delays," he said, adding there had been 24 cases relating to disinvestment, of which 11 were dismissed.