All factories should be privatised: Nirani

Former minister and chairman of MRN Group Murugesh Nirani said not just sugar factories, but all factories should be privatised, through global tenders in a transparent way.

Speaking to media persons here, on Tuesday, he said that national leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Prime minister Narendra Modi, have said that the governments should concentrate on development works and formulate policies for the welfare of the people and nation, instead on running profitable businesses, like industries.

Commenting on the opposition by leaders like former chief minister Siddaramaiah and former minister D K Shivakumar to privatisation of factories like Pandavapura Sahakara Sakkare Kharkane (PSSK) and Mysore Sugar (MySugar) factory in Mandya district, Nirani said the criticism should not be politically motivated. It has to be noted that MRN Group, headed by Nirani, has taken PSSK on lease for 40 years.

“PSSK has been taken on lease through a global tender. The first tender did not receive any response. In the second tender, there were three bidders and MRN Group won it in a transparent way. Critics like Shivakumar are also wealthy businessmen. They could have bid for the tender, instead of criticising now,” he said.

“I understand the concern of the critics. They have the welfare of the farmers and youth in mind. But, it has to be noted that despite spending Rs 600 crore over 12 years, MySugar failed to take off. The factory which has a capacity to crush 10 lakh tonne of sugarcane could process around two lakh tonne over the past three years, under ‘Operation and Management’ arrangement. It neither helped farmers nor youth in getting employment,” he said.

“I understand the emotional bonding of the people with their local factories. But, this is not selling off of the factories. It is only leasing out, for efficient management of available resources. I also oppose the sale of such industries to private parties,” he said.