The government is set to review the status of 69 privatised jute and textile mills as part of a move to bring them under its management again, officials said.
The move to inspect the mills has been initiated following allegations that most of the divested state entities have breached the conditions set by the government during their handover to the private sector.
In February last, a 10-member taskforce led by an additional secretary to the Ministry of Textiles and Jute was formed to bring the privatised jute and textile factories, which violated the conditions, under the government management again, a ministry source said.
The taskforce will review the conditions set by the government and put forward recommendations for running the mills under the government management after field visit if necessary, he added. Â
The inter-ministerial taskforce has formed four groups comprising four high officials each to inspect the mills that were handed over to the private sector earlier, ministry sources said.
As a part of the move, these high officials will start inspecting some 08 out of 69 mills shortly. The rest of the factories will be inspected in phases, they mentioned.
Each group will visit two mills and submit a report along with necessary recommendations by May 15, 2016 after completion of inspection of the jute mills. Necessary steps will be taken on case-to-case basis, they added.
Deputy Commissioners (DCs) will provide full cooperation during visit to the factories.
The decision on inspection has been taken at a meeting of the taskforce recently, an official said. Of the total, some 34 are textiles and 35 are jute mills, according to the ministry data.
Jalil Textile Mills, Chittagong Textile Mills Ltd, A.K. Khan Jute Mills Ltd, Mohsin Jute Mills, Ajax Jute Mills, Makbular Rahman Jute Mills, Kushtia Textile Mills Ltd and Goalando Textile Mills Ltd will be inspected in the first phase.
Earlier, the Prime Minister has asked the authorities concerned to back the privatised jute and textile mills to run them under the government management. Some mills which were handed over to the private sector remain inoperative.
Md Ramjan Ali, joint secretary of the Ministry of Textile and Jute and a member of one of the inspection groups, could not be reached for his comments in this regard despite several attempts over phone. The process of inspecting the mills will start soon. The inter-ministerial groups are working on this issue, Assistant Secretary of the ministry Md. Anowar Hossain told the FE.
Some 134 jute and textile factories have been handed over to the private sector in last 32 years. Â
A good number of jute and textile mills were nationalised after 1972. But after 1982, the mills were gradually handed over to the private sector, subject to some conditions. Â
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Govt set to review status of 69 privatised mills
Rezaul Karim | Published: May 04, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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