Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday urged the Union government to reconsider its decision to monetise Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), saying they play a key role in the country's industrialisation and self-reliance goals. The Chief Minister's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi came a day after he informed the Tamil Nadu Assembly that he will write to the PM on the matter.
An official release, quoting from Stalin's communication, stated he told Modi that to establish such units, people's lands, besides those of the government, had also been allotted. Stalin, in the letter, also pointed out that the Union government could take such decisions only after consulting the state governments as well as those connected with the Public Sector Undertakings. He wrote, "The PSUs are the assets of the people of this country and many of them play a key role in sustaining India as an industrialised and self reliant nation.” Stalin also pointed out that along with the state government, people too had given up their lands to make way for these PSUs. "Therefore, people have a pride and right over such undertakings," he was quoted as saying.
Referring to the Union government’s National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), Stalin said it was not clear what kind of impact it will leave on small and medium industries and the employees therein.
Stalin alleged that irrespective of the nomenclature, considering the country's present economic scenario, such a "large privatisation" will result in government assets going into the "control" of a few "groups" or large corporations. Calling for a reconsideration of privatisation of PSUs, the Union government should decide on such matters only after consulting the stakeholders and the state governments, he told PM Modi.
The National Monetization Pipeline is a Rs 6 lakh crore monetization programme by the Union government to unlock value in infrastructure assets across sectors ranging from power to road and railways. According to reports, the programme will be launched by leasing out 2229 kms of GAIL's gas pipelines to the private sector. The programme has come under heavy criticism with opposition leaders including P Chidambaram questioning the objectives of the government in rolling out this programme.