Bengal govt committed to revive sick PSUs: Amit Mitra

Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Thursday said the state run Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) played an important role in economic regeneration and state government will go out of its way to revive the sick units.     

Mitra was speaking after flagging off Kumta, an auxiliary vessel built by Shalimar Works Limited to ferry 250 jawans of the Indian Navy. The programme was also attended by Alapan Bandyopadhyay principal secretary of state transport department. 

It may be recalled that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took personal initiative to ensure that the state run PSUs become profitable. 

Mitra said the state government will take necessary steps to develop infrastructure for the PSUs and fund will be infused as and when required. 

“It is expected that Shalimar Works Limited will stand as an example before other PSU’s in the state and they would get encouraged seeing Shalimar Works Limited becoming self dependent,” he said. 

He said instead of keeping all the state run sick PSU’s under one umbrella, it was decided that each of the PSUs will be looked after by a department of the state government. 

Shalimar Works Limited was also a sick PSU and it is being looked after by the Transport Department. 

“At present the shipyard is building two vessels every year. It is expected that the number would go up to three and it will turn out to be a profitable unit. Henceforth it can run even without getting any kind of subsidy,” he said.  

It may be mentioned that the Indian Navy had placed an order to built 15 vessels of four different types worth Rs 250 crore to Shalimar Works Limited in 2012. 

In every six months Shalimar Works Limited hands over one vessel to the Navy. Seven vessels have already been handed over to the Indian Navy which include two fuel barges of a capacity of carrying 500 tonne fuel each and three vessels with a capacity of carrying 50 jawans. 

Rest of the eight vessels including three fuel barges of a capacity of carrying 200 tonne fuel each and five more like Kumta will be handed over to the Indian Navy within 2018.

Bandyopadhyay said the land on which Shalimar Works Limited build ships is partly owned by the Railways and Port. 

Thus the Shalimar Works Limited cannot undertake any work to develop the infrastructure. Even they cannot repair the embankments of the Hooghly river where the ship yard is situated. 

The Transport Department will hold a talk with the Port and Railways in this regard. He said, “I expect that Shalimar Works Limited get more work from the Indian Navy.”