The decks have been cleared for the divestment of the loss making public sector Madras Fertiliser Ltd, as the National Iranian Oil Company has given a no-objection certificate to the government for the selloff.
NIOC has around a 25.44 per cent stake in MFL. As per official sources, the government will now speed up the divestment procedure of the Rs 1,230 crore MFL which may be complete by the year end.
"The divestment of MFL has been getting delayed because an NoC had to be obtained from NIOCL. We have got it now, and therefore the government can move faster on the divestment procedure of the company," government sources said.
This apart, the delay in the announcement of the long term fertiliser policy has also hindered the divestment process.
The long term policy may, however, bring down the valuation of the company. "With this, there may be few takers for the company," said an industry expert.
The government may announce a special relief package for the company before inviting fresh bids. "Though no final decision has been taken on the issue but it is being considered," the source said.
Meanwhile, the Fertiliser Corporation of India and Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation Ltd have appealed to the Delhi high court to appoint a liquidator, following the group of ministers' decision to shut down all non-viable fertiliser units in the country at the earliest.
While the government has decided to shut down all the non-viable units, it will revive the viable units through comprehensive restructuring proposals based on unit wise techno economic viability with regard to these companies.
As per official data, the government is sending close to Rs 300 crore as non-plan assistance on four sick fertiliser plants -- HFCL, FCI, Project Development (India) Ltd and PPCL -- which have accumulated losses of more than Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) as on March 31, 2002.
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