Bhubaneswar, February 24: Six of 32 state-owned Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in Odisha are running with losses, Public Enterprises Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra told the State Assembly today.
Mahapatra said 32 PSUs are functioning in the State, of which six are incurring losses and 24 are making profits while two companies are neither making profit nor incurring any loss.
He listed out the loss-making units as Gridco Ltd, Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC), Odisha State Financial Corporation (OSFC), Kalinga Studio Limited, Odisha Pisciculture Development Corporation Limited and Odisha Rural Housing & Development Corporation (ORHDC).
The two State-owned companies- Watco and Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd (OSCSC) are neither making any profit or loss, he said.
To make the loss-making PSUs as profitable ones, the State Government has taken several steps, the Minister said.
The Government has planned to implement a voluntary retirement plan to reduce the number of employees of the enterprises. Steps have been taken to carry out activities as per the Corporate Governance Manual, appointing independent directors in the public enterprises.
The Government has also taken a move to fill the posts of Chief Executive Officers in the enterprises through the Public Enterprises Selection Board and the public enterprises sign MoUs with the Government for the governance initiatives.
The Odisha State Government will focus on recovery of outstanding loans of the State Governments and rejuvenation of the economic and human capital of the State PSUs.
For revival of Gridco, Mahapatra said, the Government has provided a long-term loan of Rs 3,701 crore with relaxation of norms. After the transfer of the power distribution companies to Tata Power, these new companies are also collecting the arrears of the utility companies and providing them to the Gridco. With the increasing number of consumers in the market, Gridco has been able to reduce the user tariff.
Similarly, the revival work at Kalinga Studio is going on while the Government is planning for a one-time loan settlement plan for Odisha Rural Housing & Development Corporation.
The State is replacing the old OSRTC buses with new modern buses to make the PSU profitable, he pointed out.
The Odisha Pisciculture Development Corporation Limited was running in loss due to the lack of adequate productive units in the past few years. But in the past 3 to 4 years, various new technologies have been used to make the PSU a profitable firm.
As many as 15 public sector units run by the Odisha government have incurred a loss of Rs 507.36 crore as per their latest accounts finalised during October 2016 to September 2017, according to a report by Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
GRIDCO Ltd (Rs 406.66 crore), Odisha Rural Housing and Development Corporation Ltd (Rs 42.93 crore) and IDCOL Kalinga Iron Works Ltd (Rs 21.18 crore) are the most loss-making PSU, the report said.
Odisha Mining Corporation Ltd (Rs 1320.51 crore), Odisha Power Generation Corporation Ltd (Rs178.16 crore) and Odisha Hydro Power Corporation Ltd (Rs 137.97 crore) are the leading profit-making PSUs during the period.
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