Soon, govt to merge 60 PSUs and corporations into 44

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced that the state government has restructured various state-owned sick PSUs and merged various PSUs in the state.

"There were around 90 PSUs and corporations in the state which were sick and needed to be restructured. After restructuring, their number has come down 44. There has been no job cut," Banerjee said in a state Assembly.

The state government will merge 60 Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) and corporations to 44 for better functioning. This step has been taken to ensure more efficiency and coordination in work. It will also reduce the operational expenditure to the state government's exchequer. However, the state government has cleared that the decision was only a part of an administrative reform. So there is no threat of job loss.

It should be recalled that the state government has recently merged some departments. The state Cabinet merged 21 government departments to form 10 new ones. The step was reportedly taken to curb the cost of running the government and ensure better delivery of public services.

With this move, the net reduction in the number of departments became 11. Earlier, the state government had 63 departments, which later became 52.On Wednesday, the state government source confirmed that West Bengal Dairy and Poultry development Corporation Limited would be merged with the West Bengal Livestock Processing Development Corporation Limited to form a single Corporation.

West Bengal Fisheries Corporation Limited will be merged with the State Fisheries development Corporation Limited. Pulpwood Development Corporation and West Bengal Wasteland Development Corporation Limited may be merged with West Bengal Forest Development Corporation Limited to form only one corporation.

The Electro Medical and Allied Industries Limited, West Bengal Pharmaceutical and Photochemical development Corporation Limited and Gluconate Health Limited would be merged with West Bengal Medical Service Corporation Limited.

Five subsidiaries of Webel may be merged with West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Limited. West Bengal trade promotion organisation will be merged with West Bengal Industrial development Corporation.

West Bengal Industrial land Holding Private Limited may be merged with Land and land reforms department. New Town Electric Supply Company Limited wilL be merged with West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited.

However there are many more mergers are on the card, said a state secretariat source.