A Parliamentary Committee today suggested that the land belonging to wound-up central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) should be retained with the central or state government or other government agencies.
The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry, chaired by K C Tyagi, which was tabled in Parliament today said it has always taken a firm stand that the fixed assets, particularly land, of wound up CPSEs should be retained with the government or its agencies.
"It is apprehended that the sale of such land to private players might have the potential to generate many unethical practices. Accordingly, the committee is of the strong and unanimous opinion that the land belonging to wound up CPSEs shall be retained with the central government or state government or other government agencies," the panel noted.
Since Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) is the member of Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD) it is firmly recommended that this view of the committee should be "emphatically placed before the CGD while formulating any policy in this area for the present or in future."
The panel also stated that DPE should "adopt a new forward looking stance" as far as performance of 31 CPSEs is concerned.
The committee notes that the DPE claims that the CPSes in India are performing to the best of their abilities in the prevailing economic scenario of declining commodity prices, reduced capital inflows and increasing financial volatility.
"The committee cannot but share its observation that the current status of all the 31 CPSEs under the Department of Heavy Industry is sick, incipient sick and weak as per DPEs guidelines," it said.
Accordingly committee "observes that the stand taken by DPE that CPSEs are performing well under the given conditions as status-quoits and wants the Department to adopt a new forward looking stance.
