Parliament panel questions Centre’s handling of fertiliser PSU disinvestment, seeks review

A parliamentary committee has sharply criticized the Indian government's handling of recommendations concerning the disinvestment of fertilizer public sector undertakings (PSUs). The Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers stated that the Department of Fertilizers satisfactorily accepted only four out of 18 recommendations. The committee found the government's replies on 11 other recommendations inadequate, prompting them to reiterate their earlier observations.

Committee chairman Kirti Azad expressed dismay at the declining quality of government responses to parliamentary panels. He noted that for the first time in his fourth term, he observed the government failing to take responsibility or provide timely replies. Azad lamented the loss of respect and seriousness with which such reports were previously treated, contrasting it with the current situation where responses are often inadequate.

The report specifically questioned the government's continued pursuit of fertilizer PSU disinvestment while the sector's strategic classification remains unresolved. The committee urged the government to provide an update on the reclassification proposal and detail any interim measures to protect fertilizer PSUs. It also raised concerns about disinvestment processes moving forward before a long-term assessment of India's fertilizer needs was completed, as previously recommended.

Furthermore, the committee faulted the government for merely "noting" its recommendation on restructuring the legacy debt of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT) and Madras Fertilizers Ltd (MFL). The response did not indicate whether any concrete proposals had been examined. While welcoming the approval for a new ammonia-urea complex in Assam, the panel reiterated its broader recommendation for a nationwide modernization program for aging fertilizer plants.

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This is my fourth term. For the first time I am seeing the government just does not answer. They do not take any responsibility. They do not give timely replies.