PACL sold for peanuts, Vigilance starts probe

Vishav Bharti

Chandigarh, February 16

The ‘controversial’ disinvestment in Punjab Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (PACL), Naya Nangal, has come back to haunt the previous Congress government as the Punjab Vigilance Bureau has started a probe.

The buyers

As per the complaint, Sukhbir Dahiya, Jagbir Singh Ahlawat and their family members purchased the company

The assets

88.86 acres Factory land

722 sq yard Sector 31 plot (Chandigarh)

2.5 acres Housing colony

8.61 acres New colony

3 acres plot

About the company

• The company was incorporated in Chandigarh on 18 December 1975 for manufacturing caustic soda, liquid chlorine, hydrochloric acid and calcium hypochlorite
• It was originally incorporated under the name Punjab Alkalies Limited. The name was changed to Punjab Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd. In north India, they had the monopoly in the products they were making

A senior functionary of the bureau revealed that they had come across glaring irregularities the way the whole deal was executed. “It is a typical example of selling the government assets at throwaway prices,” he said.

The previous government had also formed a three-member committee of ministers, Brahm Mohindra, Manpreet Badal and Sunder Sham Arora. In September 2020, the government had sold off 100 per cent equity shareholding in the PACL, which was equivalent to 33.49 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital of the PACL, through a private company instead of the Directorate of Public Enterprises and Disinvestment, Punjab.

The entire gameplan unfolded amid Covid when the government sold off its stake for a meagre Rs 42 crore. However, as per conservative assessment, the worth of the company’s assets was not less than Rs 1,000 crore. The assets sold off included a functional profit-making plant, 88.86-acre factory land at Naya Nangal, a 722-sq yard plot in Sector 31, Chandigarh, two housing colonies at Naya Nangal, one in 2.5 acres and another in 8.61 acres. Apart from that, there was a piece of land at Naya Nangal, which was of three acres.

Just before selling off its stake, the government had invested Rs 356 crore in the company of these, Rs 116 crore was on the modernisation of the chemical factory in 2017. Apart from this, under New Business Development Policy-2017, the company was availing exemption in electricity duty for 10 years. The company was also availing 25 per cent of net GST over seven years, subject to a cap of Rs 120 crore.

Sources revealed that the Vigilance had prepared a report based on the complaint given by the laid-off employees of the company in November last year. In the complaint, the employees had claimed that the government went ahead with the disinvestment despite the fact that the company had been making profit for the past several years. In 2018-19, the company netted Rs 55.86 crore, in 2019-20 8.8 crore and 2020-21, it was 8.24 crore.

In 2017, the employees had filed a compliant and alerted the government that some employees were planning to buy the firm. Developments took place and marketing head of the PSU is now the managing director of the company.