The state finance department has set July 20 as the deadline for various departments to forward proposals for the closure or divestment of public sector undertakings.

The state is considering 100 per cent divestment in Mafco, and closure of Maharashtra Land Development Corporation and the Kolhapur Film City.

The order for closing down and fully disinvesting the Maharashtra government's stake in these PSUs was issued by the Maharashtra Board for Restructuring State Enterprises over a year back.

The Divestment Development

Subsequent to the MBRSE order, files have been pending with the departments responsible for the PSUs. They have failed to forward a single proposal for closure or divestment to the state Cabinet.

A senior finance department official said: "For the past three months, the finance department pursued with various state departments like the water resources department, industries department, social welfare and justice department regarding the pending proposals.

The department heads as well as the chief executive officers running these loss-making PSUs have been shy of even attending the meetings convened by the state finance department despite repeated reminders."

The Maharashtra finance minister Jayant Patil, in his budget speech, had said that a committee of five senior officers of the Maharashtra State Textile Corporation, headed by chairperson Sudha Bhave, would be entrusted with the task of working out the modalities for the closure of the loss-making PSUs.

The MSTC is believed to have expressed its disinclination to take over the responsibility of the closure of these PSUs. The state is now thinking of entrusting the task of closing down loss making state PSUs to SICOM.

"The problem is that no one wants to be associated with the task of closing down any state run business activity as it is a politically sensitive subject. It is an old mindset that has allowed the state exchequer to be bled for years by non-productive PSUs," the official added.

Current additional chief secretary OP Gehrotra is credited with having effected the closure of the nine MSTC mills in the state that effectively retrenched 11000 state government employees. The negotiations with trade unions was a key aspect to the closure being effected in MSTC.