BHUBANESWAR: Since the early 1950s, the state government has invested 97.95 billion in the state's 68 PSUs, of which only 34 are in operation. Nine of the 34 are profit making and 23 are about to be closed down, a senior official of the state public enterprise department said Friday. If the loss-making companies continue their operations and accumulate losses at the same rate, by the end of 2004-05 it is expected that their entire paid-up capital would be wiped out, the official said. The state already has serious financial problems with its massive loan burden and fiscal deficits. The loan was 103.23 billion in 1995-96 but increased to 179.08 billion in 1999-2000. Payment on account of interest alone is estimated to be 20.3 billion during 2001-02 and is likely to reach 39.45 billion by 2005-06, he said. There is no alternative for the state other than to carry out public enterprise reforms involving restructuring and disinvestments. The 10 PSUs to be disinvested are IDCOL Cement, IDCOL Ferrochrome, Hirakud Industrial Works Limited, IDCOL Re-rolling Mill (subsidiaries of the Industrial Development Corporation Limited or IDCOL), the Kalinga Spinning Mills, Sri Gopinath Spinning Mills, Orissa Weavers' Cooperative Spinning Mill, Kalinga Studio and the state's two sugar mills in Nayagarh and Badamba. The official said the four subsidiaries of IDCOL alone had incurred a cumulative loss of 1.78 billion. IDCOL Cement has an accumulated loss of 1.23 billion while in the case of IDCOL Ferrochrome the loss is 440 million, almost equal to its capital base of 494.8 million. The accumulated loss of the three spinning mills has reached around 300 million, eroding their capital bases. Similarly the Nayagarh sugar mill has incurred a loss of 163.1 million and the loss in the Badamba mill is 90 million. The Kalinga Studio Limited has incurred a loss of 21.7 million as against an investment of 14.4 million, the official said. A committee headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will decide on the price for the units to be privatised.
Source: IANS