No Centre's nod for BHPV, BHEL merger

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Feb 15, 2013: With the current financial year coming to a close soon, the workers, ancillary units and others dependent on Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels (BHPV) have lost hopes of its merger with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in the near future.

They are of the opinion that the union government had postponed the merger proposal to the next, financial year, the last year of UPA II.

The BHPV-BHEL merger has been hanging fire since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, announced it in 2008.  Though the prime minister, announced BHPV would be totally merged into BHEL, the former was made only a subsidiary in May, 2008. Since then efforts were on by the trade unions of the BHPV and the local public representatives for the formal merger.

Recently, the merger was also approved by the BHEL Board and it is learnt to be looking for a legal firm for providing legal services for the merger. 

And the formal procedures for merger like getting clearance from Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), Company Law Board and annual general body meeting of shareholders and Registrar of Companies were done and it is learnt that the merger file is now with the PMO, which has to be sent to union cabinet for final approval.

“Except promises on the merger nothing has been moving positively. We all expected union cabinet would give its nod before the budget session,” said CITU president Ajay Sarma.

The employees are also demanding implementation of 1997 and 2007 wage revisions and payment of arrears with retrospective effect.

With no direct orders to strengthen its financial position, BHPV is now working or processing the orders of BHEL-Trichy and Hyderabad which is affecting the rate contract vendors and around 25 ancillary units of the BHPV.

The delay in merger is also costing rate contract vendors heavily. These units involved in fabrication and structural works for BHPV are facing problems due to delay in settlement of bills.

“Now BHPV is totally dependant on BHEL Trichy and Hyderabad. Looks like the government had pushed the merger to the next financial year. There is no sign of any file movement in this regard at any level. And next year it’s the end of UPA II,” pointed Visakha Autonagar Small Scale Industrialists Welfare Association president Ramakrishna Pratap Narappareddy.