New Delhi: The Centre has asked the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to disinvest Neelanchal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) as soon as possible, Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey told PSU Watch on Friday. The statement comes a day after a high-level meeting took place between Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for Corporate Affairs Piyush Goyal, the DIPAM Secretary and the top executives of MMTC Limited (primary promoter of NINL) and NINL.
On being asked if the NINL plant will be restarted before disinvestment, Pandey said that a decision in this regard will be taken by the administrative ministry but added that he thinks it is unlikely.
PSU Watch had reported earlier that NINL is facing a deep financial crunch and has not been able to pay its employees for the last six months. The Cabinet had approved the disinvestment of NINL in January this year. However, the financial crisis at NINL (which had been making losses before the government approved its disinvestment) deepened as MMTC refused to release funds to the Odisha-based PSU.
Sources had told PSU Watch on August 13 that the Centre has asked MMTC to sell off finished products worth around Rs 230 crore, which are with NINL, and release funds so that the latter could release the overdue and current salaries to its employees. However, there is no official word on what will be done about the NINL steel plant which has shut down operations completely since March-end and if and how the employees will be paid salaries until the time the PSU is disinvested.
NINL has a complex shareholding pattern with MMTC holding 49.78 percent share and the Odisha government at 32.47 percent. The rest of the shares are held by NMDC Ltd, IDBI Bank, MECON, BHEL and Odisha PSUs IPICOL and OMC.
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