Union budget might not offer a lifeline for FACT

February 26, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 04:34 pm IST - KOCHI

Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore is in dire financial straits and there is little anticipation of the upcoming Union budget offering a lifeline.

The government appears in no mood to infuse more funds into public sector enterprises in financial trouble and sources said that the company could immediately be helped only through a working capital loan.

Sources said that there has been no intimation from Delhi about possible financial help for the ailing company.

A spokesman for Save FACT Action Committee appealed for a working capital soft loan of Rs. 300 crore immediately and a one-time financial assistance of Rs. 250 crore.

The company’s dues to its suppliers are reported to be substantial and payment for natural gas being supplied to FACT through MMTC will have to begin towards the end of April.

The spokesman for the combine of trade unions expressed optimism that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had assured the Chief Minister and the Opposition leader from the State that the government would help revive the company.

Besides, he said, the Minister for Fertilisers and Chemicals Ananth Kumar, who visited the State early last year, had given an assurance to the employees’ unions that the government would help revive the company.

Financial help can be made available to FACT even outside the budget provisions through cheaper loans to enterprises related to agriculture, felt the trade union spokesman.

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