THIRUVANANTHAPURAMPSU: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has called for the liquidation of inactive public sector enterprises under the state government. The recommendation was made in the State Finances Audit Report 2021-22 tabled in the legislative assembly recently.
Of the 150 state PSUs, only 131 are active, according to the report. Among the active units, 55 were profit-making and 63 were running in loss. Together, the 55 enterprises earned a profit of Rs 654.99 crore. The total losses incurred by the rest of the enterprises was Rs 4,065.38 crore. Four units generated zero profit or loss and nine did not submit accounts.
The Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML) topped the list of profitable enterprises with a net profit of Rs 226.91 crore. The Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) and the Kerala State Financial Enterprises came second and third with a net profit of Rs 113.13 crore and Rs 77.62 crore respectively.
The KMML accounted for 44.84% of the total profit generated by the 55 units and Bevco 22.36%. The Kerala State Electricity Board, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation and the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation were the units which incurred maximum losses.
Quoting a recent study by the CAG on five loss-making units, the report said the major cause of loss of PSUs was inefficient working capital management, investment in unviable projects, inefficiency in production, operation and labour, and under- utilisation of available capacity.