Sc Order On Balco To Be Cited At Itdc Hearings : Shourie

The attorney general will cite the recent Supreme Court judgement on the Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) case at the High Court hearings on Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), disinvestment minister Arun Shourie said.

"We have already sent copies of the judgement and the attorney general will be placing those copies before the court," Shourie said, while speaking on the sidelines of a summit organised in the capital.

In the judgement on the Balco case, the Supreme Court had clearly stated that the disinvestment procedure was transparent, equitable and fair, he added.

"The Supreme Court had also defined the norms for transparency," Shourie said, adding that according to the apex court, transparency requires that the procedures should be known to all and that the people who take decisions should not be selected in an arbitrary manner.

While addressing the summit organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), Shourie said the government should focus on those areas of reform which do not require legislative changes.

Pushing legislative changes can be difficult as parties are often unwilling to give vocal support to reforms. "There is no point in waiting for a 'verbal' consensus," he said, adding: "There is an 'in practice' consensus on reforms". Parties oppose policies when they are in the opposition.

It is only when the changes have borne fruit, probably 10-15 years down the line, that all the parties have the courage to publicly support the reform process, he added.

The minister also stressed the importance of abiding by the rules and institutions laid out for governance and a closer interaction between the industry and the judiciary to create a better understanding of economic and industrial management.

Rather than looking to the government for solutions, industry should take the initiative and propose solutions which the government can then adopt, he said.