Save Your Reputation, Fm Tells L & T

Referring to the poor performance of the graphite beneficiation plant at Sivaganga, for which engineering and construction giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T) had supplied plant and equipment and was bound by a performance guarantee, Union finance minister P Chidambaram told the company to improve its showing.

You have a reputation to save. For a company of your size, this situation cannot be allowed to continue, he said yesterday.

Speaking at a seminar on Graphite and emerging minerals, organised by state government agencies, Chidambaram said the plant was working beneficiating 18 tonnes of graphite of about 90 per cent purity daily, while the committed performance was 30 tonnes at 96 per cent purity.

L&T must deliver on its promise or pay a penalty, Chidambaram said, adding if it didnt have the expertise to improve the performance, it must pay and get external help.

The company owes itself to set right the situation. It has to act immediately, in its own interest and in the interest of its future relationship with the Tamil Nadu government, he remarked.

A company official, who was also present, expressed confidence that L&T would upgrade the plants performance to the targeted levels.