JOIN USCentre's Nalco plan in jeopardy
The Centre is reportedly planning to disinvest ten per cent stake in Nalco, the Odisha based public sector aluminium major in the second round of stake sale of important state-run companies.
However, the plan may run into a rough weather because of the opposition and resistance it is already facing not only from non-NDA parties like ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress in the state, but also from different employees unions of the profit making Public Sector Unit (PSU).
The BJD’s opposition to the move is being spearheaded by president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. “Nalco is a major profit-making PSU. Therefore, there is no need to disinvest its stakes”, Patnaik has said in a recent interview.
One of his party spokespersons, Amar Prasad Satpathy has already warned of a statewide agitation if the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government makes any attempt to go ahead with its disinvestment plan in Nalco. “We have been opposing the idea and we will stage protests against it”, the senior legislator said.
The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee(OPCC) president Prasad Harichandan has also declared to oppose the Centre’s reported move. Strongly opposing the fresh disinvestment attempt, different employees unions of the Navaratna company have already announced to hold protest meetings at the two plant sites in Angul in coastal Angul district and in Damanjodi in tribal dominated Koraput district.
Independent observers, however, believe that the opposition to the stake sale in misplaced as the Centre is planning to offload only ten percent stake in the blue chip company. The government of India currently holds more than 80 per cent stake in Nalco and therefore, the company would remain under the union government’s control even after the ten percent stake sale.
Attempts were made several times earlier, both during the previous NDA as well as UPA regimes to go for disinvestment in Nalco. However, the move had failed on each occasion in the face of protest by political parties and employees of the profit making PSU.