Govt defers divestment of NMDC'S Nagarnar plant: Report

NEW DELHI: The government had deferred the proposal for strategic divestment of NMDC'S under-construction Nagarnar steel plant in Chhattisgarh until the unit becomes operational, the PSU said.

NMDC CMD N Baijendra Kumar told PTI that the interministerial group for divestment has decided to put the sale of the Nagarnar steel plant on hold. According to company sources, the state government, local political parties and trade unions were against the selling of the steel plant to private parties. The company last year had announced that the process for strategic divestment of NMDC'S Nagarnar plant had started. The steel plant was in the list of public sector enterprises lined up by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) for strategic divestment.

The government has fixed a disinvestment target of Rs 80,000 crore for the ongoing fiscal. Strategic disinvestment denotes the sale of a substantial portion of government shareholding in an identified central public sector enterprise (CPSE), up to 50 per cent or more, along with the transfer of management control.

NMDC in its annual report 2017-18 said, "The Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD) in its meeting...considered and concurred with the proposal of Ministry of Steel as regards deferment of the proposal of Strategic Disinvestment till the plant becomes operational. IMG noted the recommendations of CGD."