Bharat Leather liquidated
Vishal Sharma
New Delhi/ Agra. Bharat Leather Corporation Ltd, an Agra-based public sector undertaking under the Union Ministry of Industry and Public Enterprises, which was declared a sick unit a decade earlier, saw the final nail of pseudo-disinvestment struck in its coffin recently with the UP High Court finally ordering the liquidation of the company assets through a public auction.
In the auction that was participated by almost a dozen bidders, the company's head office located in the Sanjay Place commercial area of Agra was sold to Ganesh Buildtech, an Agra based real estate developer company for Rs. 5.62 crores after which, Ganesh Buildtech has now applied with the Agra Development Authority for the transfer of possession of the 543 sq. meter building.
Notably, Bharat Leather Corporation, Agra had been one of the premier public sector undertakings of the Union Ministry of Industries, engaged in the manufacture and supply of leather shoes for the armed forces, police, Provincial Armed Constabulary etc., running five retail outlets across the country, but due to regular losses and interest on government loans that continued to pile up despite sincere efforts to revive the company, the MOI decided to declare it a sick unit and disinvest in the company by offering Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to its employees in 1992.
According to the MOI sources, since the introduction of this scheme in 1992 upto 31.12.97, 86 employees had opted to retire under the VRS though the disinvestment process could not be completed and the proposal to divest in the PSE was returned to the MOI by the Department of Disinvestment due to lack of bidders in a competitive bidding process after which, the state government decided to move in to take over its land that had been leased to the company on the condition that these units should not be handed over to the private sector and in the ensuing legal process, the UP High Court appointed a liquidator for the property and the state govt. got it auctioned off finally.
New Delhi/ Agra. Bharat Leather Corporation Ltd, an Agra-based public sector undertaking under the Union Ministry of Industry and Public Enterprises, which was declared a sick unit a decade earlier, saw the final nail of pseudo-disinvestment struck in its coffin recently with the UP High Court finally ordering the liquidation of the company assets through a public auction.
In the auction that was participated by almost a dozen bidders, the company's head office located in the Sanjay Place commercial area of Agra was sold to Ganesh Buildtech, an Agra based real estate developer company for Rs. 5.62 crores after which, Ganesh Buildtech has now applied with the Agra Development Authority for the transfer of possession of the 543 sq. meter building.
Notably, Bharat Leather Corporation, Agra had been one of the premier public sector undertakings of the Union Ministry of Industries, engaged in the manufacture and supply of leather shoes for the armed forces, police, Provincial Armed Constabulary etc., running five retail outlets across the country, but due to regular losses and interest on government loans that continued to pile up despite sincere efforts to revive the company, the MOI decided to declare it a sick unit and disinvest in the company by offering Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to its employees in 1992.
According to the MOI sources, since the introduction of this scheme in 1992 upto 31.12.97, 86 employees had opted to retire under the VRS though the disinvestment process could not be completed and the proposal to divest in the PSE was returned to the MOI by the Department of Disinvestment due to lack of bidders in a competitive bidding process after which, the state government decided to move in to take over its land that had been leased to the company on the condition that these units should not be handed over to the private sector and in the ensuing legal process, the UP High Court appointed a liquidator for the property and the state govt. got it auctioned off finally.
Comments