New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel has asked the government to desist from selling state-run oil refining and marketing companies Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum as they had done considerable work in raising infrastructure, thus fulfilling the objective of disinvestment policy.

"These companies have already done considerable work in raising infrastructure and hence the objective of disinvestment is already being fulfilled. Therefore, there is no need to disinvest BPCL and HPCL," Parliamentary Standing Committee on Petroleum, headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, said in its latest report which was tabled in Parliament last week.

One of the objectives of disinvestment in BPCL and HPCL is to release the large amount of public resources locked up in these companies and re-deploy the same in social and infrastructural sectors.

"Both these companies after having been made PSUs have set up a vast network of marketing infrastructure such as port facilities, terminals, depots, LPG bottling plants and product pipelines. This infrastructure is also an investment which ultimately helps the common man in the society," it said.

Questioning Ministry of Disinvestment's argument that the country's economy had the capacity to absorb the employees losing jobs after privatisation, the Committee said, "India is a welfare state and it is the duty of the government to secure the welfare of the people. Releasing of employed manpower without any alternate job is not a welfare activity."

Citing examples of Modern Food and Balco, privatised in the last two years, the committee said the employees were coerced to opt for voluntary retirement scheme (VRS).

PTI