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Govt not in a hurry to sell Jessop: Shourie

Union Minister for Divestment Arun Shourie has said the government is not in a hurry to sell Jessop and Co Ltd.

Shourie, in a letter to Dipankar Mukherjee, Rajya Sabha Member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said the government would like to expedite the revival of the company as early as possible.

Mukherjee had accused the Centre of "trying to sell off the company in a hurry".

The minister said since Jessop was a sick company under the purview of the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction, the proposal of the government to induct strategic partner in the company would require the approval of BIFR.

The government, he said, would submit necessary proposal in this regard shortly to BIFR for examination and approval.

Shourie said the government had sanctioned the financial restructuring in Jessop involving Rs 700 million besides granting interest holiday and moratorium for payment of loans in 1986.

Jessop, he said, was referred to BIFR, which had sanctioned a revival scheme in May 1998. The government had provided fresh funds to the tune of Rs 540 million as also Rs 2.42 billion by way of write-offs, waivers, conversion of loan into equity and counter-guarantee as per the revival scheme.

He said that in spite of the concessions, the company could not be revived and now the possibility of changing the management is being explored.

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