"Birlas and Ambujas are interested in buying the plants of CCI," Heavy Industres Minister Santosh Mohan Dev said.
Of the 10 plants of CCI, seven are non-functional. As part of the proposal for the revival of the company it was suggested that the seven plants be sold and money raised should be used for modernisation of the remaining three plants and retire the libalities of CCI.
The proposal got the clearance from the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises on September 2. The recommendations of the Board will now go to the Cabinet for approval.
The sale of seven plants will fetch Rs 617.76 crore (Rs 6.17 billion). "For the biggest plant of CCI at Nayagaon in Madhya Pradesh having a capacity of 1.4 million tonnes, the A V Birla Group company Grasim has shown interest," sources said.
Damlias have shown interest in taking over Adilabad plant in Andhra Pradesh that has the capacity of four lakh tonnes, sources added.
The expression of interest has also come for the plants at Akaltara and Mandhar in Chhattisgarh, Kurkunta in Karnataka, Charkhi Dadri in Haryana and a grinding unit in Delhi. Dev said even private players could be inducted for the revival of sick PSUs.
He said the sale of land owned by PSUs would be done in a transparent way. "The representatives of banks and state governments would be involved in the process. Instead of tenders the land will be sold through open bids," the minister added.
Dev said with the payment of salaries and other dues of the workers of sick PSUs under his ministry, their performance has improved.
Of the 27 loss making PSUs that were extended assistance by the government for paying salaries and other dues, 12 have started making enough money to pay their employees on their own, he said.
Dev said the present government has brought about a radical change in the policy relating to the public sector companies.
The recommendations of the adhoc group on empowerment of public sector enterprises in financial autonomy of navaratnas and other public sector companies have already been accepted by the government, he said.
"Remaining recommendations relating to ownership issues, audit, parliamentary accountability and vigilance management are under consideration," Dev added.
He said path to improving the performance of PSUs lies just not in greater autonomy but that must be matched by greater responsibility and simultaneous accountability.