The Hindu : Business : FACT will be revived soon: Paswan

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Saturday, Jan 14, 2006

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FACT will be revived soon: Paswan

Staff Reporter

Revival proposal to reach Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

KOCHI: Union Minister for Steel, Fertilizers and Chemicals Ram Vilas Paswan said here on Friday that revival of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) was only a matter of time, and the proposal for the purpose would be approved at the earliest.

Mr. Paswan said at a press conference that the proposal would come before a committee of secretaries within a fortnight and send to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) soon.

The proposal was cleared by the Board for Revival of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) in December.

He said the balance sheet would be cleaned up to help FACT begin a new life, as the Union Government was bound by its commitment on public sector undertakings.

The proposal was to write off half of FACT's debts and turn the remaining into Government's equity in the company.

Mr. Paswan said there would be no shortage of fertilizer in any part of the country, and quoted recent data for Kerala to show that there was sufficient stock of fertilizers in various States.

Urea requirement in Kerala during December was 12.5 tonnes, while the availability was 14.82 tonnes and actual sales 12.13 tonnes.

He said the certificate system for supply of fertilizers, followed till recently for payment of subsidies, had been done away with from January 1 and fertilizer requirement in each State was being monitored directly from Delhi.

The certificate system required respective Agriculture Departments to issue certificates of supply so that suppliers could get subsidy payments. The Government had raised subsidy levels to meet rising cost of inputs for fertilizer production, he added.

HIL revival

Mr. Paswan said the BRPSE had cleared the revival proposal for Hindustan Insecticides Ltd. (HIL) and the department would work on taking the proposal to the CCEA at the earliest. Proposals would soon be before the committee of secretaries.

The Minister said the proposal had envisaged writing off Rs. 66 crores of debts and Rs. 109 crores of interest owed by HIL, besides providing Rs. 20 crores for a voluntary retirement scheme and Rs. 20 crores in guarantee.

SAIL yard

The Irimpanam stockyard of Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) will be reopened by April-May this year, said K.S. Roongta, Director, SAIL, who was present with the Union Minister at the press conference.

It was reported earlier that the SAIL stockyard would be wound up.

The yard was now being refurbished and would be ready for operation as a departmental outlet. This had been a long-standing demand by the industry in Kerala, he added.

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