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April 23, 2001
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Money > Business Headlines > Report April 23, 2001 |
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Divestment proceeds can be used in states: ShourieBS Economy Bureau Divestment proceeds of state-specific public sector companies could be used for social sector investment in the states where they are located. This would help to avoid the kind of situation, which has arisen over Bharat Aluminium Company with the Chhattisgarh government, said Arun Shourie, minister of state for divestment. "In case of divestment of any enterprise which is location specific, say like a steel plant, proceeds could be used for social sector investment in that state. This would be in addition to the state plan," he said while delivering a lecture on reforms at the India International Centre on Saturday. Such a move would also help build greater acceptability for divestment at the state level as they would directly benefit from the privatisation process. "This is only a suggestion, but it would definitely help to avoid the kind of situation which the Chhattisgarh government has created over divestment of Balco," he said. However, he also said while it was a good idea to try and build a consensus for change, there would anyway be some degree of opposition which would have to be ignored. "There are times one has to be deaf and go ahead. There will also be a phase where we will face minor strikes of the type seen in Britain," he added. It is only ten years later that the situation will change and the decision to proceed with reforms will be post facto, deemed to be correct. The current position of central and state government finances will be the push required for reforms over the next five years. Also, a more liberalised environment is beneficial as it means that the options to continue to do the wrong thing are fewer. Mistakes show up sooner in a liberalised environment than in a closed one, he said. "Reforms cannot be done by stealth and the public will understand the need to proceed with the process. But the government has to make an effort to focus on specific decision makers and have them explain the need for reform to the public," he added. Public attention should also be drawn to the 'non-remedies' which have been undertaken for the last 50 years and greater emphasis should be placed on things which can be done outside the state government apparatus. Powered by YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ:
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