PSUs have lost relevance: Punjab panel

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government will have to take a series of measures to rejuvenate the PSUs which have lost relevance due to financial crisis.
The observation was made by the Punjab Disinvestment Commission which was set up in June 2001 with the purpose of getting response on disinvestment of the public sector, it’s restructuring and re-organisation.
The commission, which was entrusted with preparing a status report on 38 PSUs, will come out with it’s recommendations on May 25, according to sources.
“Anything on the recommmendations of the commission could be made public only after it’s report is prepared by May 25,� Commission chairman P H Vaishnav said here today.
However, sources said the commission had suggested price fixation autonomy and regulatory authority for PSUs, registeration fee for quick disposal of assets and setting up of an asset management authority among others for the rejuvenation of “sick� PSUs.
The government will have to change its attitude to draw maximum from what is left with these PSUs, the sources said.
It was imperative to go in for assimilation and elimination of PSUs in the wake of huge loss suffered by these innstitutions, they said.
The commission learnt that the 38 PSUs involving an investment of over Rs 25,000 crore are suffering an annual loss of about Rs 200 Crore, the sources claimed.
While the bank loans and equity stood at nearly Rs 8,500 crore, the accumulative returns were about Rs 8.40 crore till the last fiscal.
The commission has observed that none of the PSUs have ever conducted analysis or made efforts to recover locked money, the sources said.
The balance sheets of most of the PSUs were never prepared, assets stood attached, despite closure, complexes existed with plants fitted with machinery with no signs of attempts to sell these while employees were retained and paid salaries, the Commission found as per sources.