The Uttar Pradesh government has invited a request for qualification cum request for proposal (RFQ-cum-RFP) for the valuation of state cooperative sugar mills, which it wants to transfer to the private sector.
The last date for the submission of bids, which was initially August 29, has been extended to September 19.
Valuers, who have completed the valuation of at least 10 industrial units, of which at least two assignments should relate to the valuation of sugar mills or distilleries, are eligible for filing the bids.
Meanwhile, the state government has also invited RFQ-cum-RFP from reputed consultancies to facilitate the privatisation of the cooperative sugar mills. The last date for filing these bids is tomorrow, Cane Commissioner Harsharan Das told Business Standard.
The government wants to transfer the assets and liabilities of 25 of the 28 cooperative sugar mills. The state government is the majority stake holder in all the 25 units. The remaining three mills are subject to court cases.
Most of these low-capacity cooperative mills are located in the rural areas and running in losses. However, they command a better cane area than corporation mills.
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The UP government is taking steps for the privatisation of the beleaguered sugar sector to usher in operational efficiency, reduce non-performing assets (NPAs) and cut non-productive overheads running into several crores of rupees annually.
The 33 state sugar corporation mills have been put on the block. There are about 154 sugar mills in the state, of which 93, 28 and 33 operate in the private, cooperative and sugar corporation sectors, respectively. However, only about 132 are in working condition and had participated in crushing in 2007-08.