VISAKHAPATNAM: Finally, the Central government has taken a step back on its disinvestment plans of the Dredging Corporation of India Ltd (DCIL) and decided to sell its shares to a consortium of four major ports.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave ‘in principle’ approval for the strategic disinvestment of 100% GoI shares of the DCIL to a consortium Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT), Paradeep Port Trust (PPT), Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai and Kandla Port Trust (KPT) in Gujarat on Thursday.
Presently, the Centre holds 73.44 per cent shares in the DCIL. The strategic disinvestment will be undertaken after conducting the due diligence exercise by both the parties with the help of legal and business advisors. The DCIL, a Mini Ratna PSU, which is engaged in dredging Indian and foreign seaports, was established in 1976 in Visakhapatnam as its headquarters. The DCI Employees and Workers Union expressed their happiness on the development.
“The development facilitates the DCIL to spread its wings further through the four major Port Trusts. We are happy that with this move the DCIL will remain as a PSU in future also. The government took a foot back as it was scared of the backlash from the public and the agitations by DCIL employees and workers against privatisation plans. This is purely the victory of people and all sections of society who strongly supported the DCIL staff against the privatisation. In future also we will support all agitations against the privatisation of any PSU,” said N Narasinga Rao, P Venkata Rao and VS Padmanabha Raju, the leaders of DCIL Non- Executive Employees Union (CITU), on Saturday. This Cabinet Committee decision will further facilitate the linkage of dredging activities with the four major ports as there is a potential scope for diversification of ports into third party dredging. The co-sharing of facilities between the company and the ports will result in saving expenditure for both the parties.
This may further provide opportunities for more investments in the DCIL through the ports which will help a lot in increasing the value of both the ports and the DCIL. Leaders of several worker unions, other PSU employees and workers unions expressed happiness.