The Gujarat state finance department has made a recommendation to the government to expedite the final closure of seven PSUs (public sector undertakings) under liquidation.
Agencies like the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the Public Accounts Committee of the Gujarat assembly have also recently made similar recommendations to the state govt, asserting that loss-making PSUs have been burdening the state’s finances.
The finance department has also suggested to the government to take a speedy decision on the viability of 30 loss-making PSUs in the state regarding their revival or liquidation.
“A detailed presentation on the state of the PSUs was made before the state Cabinet. The finance department has recommended that the government initiate concrete action either to revive or liquidate loss-making PSUs,” a senior official said.
Of 99 state PSUs, the top five departments having the most PSUs are energy and petrochemicals (24), industries and mines (23), social justice and empowerment (10), urban development and urban housing (8), and agriculture and cooperation department (5).
According to the presentation, while the number of profit-making PSUs has increased over the past three years, the loss-making PSUs have remained more or less stagnant.
According to official data, 58 PSUs were profit-making in 2020-21, whose number increased to 61 in 2021-22 and 63 in 2022-23. Similarly, the number of loss-making PSUs was 31 in 2020-21 and remained stagnant at 30 in 2021-22 and 2022-23. The combined turnover of the SPSUs increased from 1.35 lakh crore in 2020-21 to 1.94 lakh crore in 2022-23.
Among the loss-making PSUs, 13 are dedicated to infrastructure creation, 3 are delivering public services at subsidised rates, 12 are either under liquidation, are inactive or have been merged with other companies, and two are under the “other” category.
The top five profit-making PSUs of the Gujarat govt are Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited, Gujarat Gas Limited, Gujarat State Fertilizer Company Ltd., and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd.
Official sources said the finance department has also recommended expediting the finalisation of accounts, especially of the active PSUs in the state.
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