Mustansir
SRINAGAR, Oct 18: Fourteen Government companies and two statutory corporations owe Rs. 1,450 crore to the State exchequer as successive Governments since 1996 could not initiate remedial measures in the once-flourishing Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India's report, presented in the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council at the end of the Budget session on April 5, has pointed out a cumulative red balance of Rs. 1,450.46 crore with the 16 PSUs. The J&K Power Development Corporation tops the list with the cumulative borrowing of Rs. 816.03 crore, followed by the J&K State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) and J&K State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd who owe the State Government Rs. 129.70 crore and Rs. 100.44 crore respectively.
The red balance of these PSUs includes equity of Rs. 55.22 crore, loans and grants worth Rs. 1,387.28 crore besides subsidies worth Rs. 7.96 crore. While the J&K SRTC has a liability of Rs. 129.70 crore, the J&K State Financial Corporation, another statutory corporation, has its red balance running into Rs. 80 crore.
Among the Government companies, the near-defunct J&K Minerals has a liability of Rs. 74.86 crore, followed by the J&K Industries Ltd (Rs. 66.62 crore), the J&K State Handloom Development Corporation (Rs. 36.56 crore), the J&K Handicrafts (Sales & Export) Corporation (Rs. 25.56 crore) and J&K State Women's Development Corporation (Rs. 22.19 crore). Even the J&K State Tourism Development Corporation owes Rs. 6.95 crore, despite registering profit in the last few years.
However, some PSUs - the J&K State Cable Car Corporation and the J&K State Forest Corporation - which have been showing profits, are free of all liabilities. Sources in the Departments of Planning and Finance maintained that some of the undertakings like the J&K State Financial Corporation were expected to clear all the liabilities as they had lately adopted some corrective measures and the Centre had offered them substantial support to come out of the red.
Even as some of these perennially loss-making PSUs like the J&K Wool and Woolen Products Board have been closed down, none of the successive Governments has implemented the Godbole Committee Report that had recommended disinvestment and winding up of over a dozen of the Corporations during Farooq Abdullah's National Conference Government in 1996-2002. "The golden hand-shake", according to sources, involved certain "political risks." |
