New Delhi: In a bid to expedite the process of privatisation of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie on January 21 submitted the attorney general (AG) Soli Sorabjee's opinion on oil public sector units (PSUs) to Prime Minister and said Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment (CCD) could meet later this month.

"I have submitted AG's opinion to Prime Minister," Shourie told reporters but clarified that the issue did not come up for discussion at the meeting of the Union Cabinet on January 21 morning.

The AG was asked to give opinion on whether government needs to take Parliament approval for disinvestment in HPCL and BPCL and several points of law have been considered, Shourie said but declined to say what the opinion given by Sorabjee was.

Asked about the next step, he said a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment could be held later this month after Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani returns from his foreign tour.

CCD had deferred on December 27 the issues of quantum and modalities of sale of government equity in HPCL to a strategic partner and to public in case of BPCL for want of AG's opinion, which Shourie had promised in Parliament before going ahead with privatisation of two oil PSUs.

Sources said that Disinvestment Ministry would soon present a road map for sale of equity in two oil PSUs in view of the favourable opinion given by AG, according to which government need not go to Parliament for privatisation of the two companies, acquired in 1970s by Acts of Parliament.

PTI