Natelco Rejects Maharashtra Meltron Offer

The National Telecom Company (Natelco) has formally refused the Maharashtra government's offer on Meltron. Sunil Dighe, counsel for Meltron Employees Welfare Association (Mewa) said: "The state advocate general C J Samant declared in the Bombay High Court that Natelco was not interested in the offer. This was also corroborated by the counsel for Natelco."

Natelco had written a letter to Sicom - the merchant banker to the tender floated by the state government - rejecting the offer. Mewa had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the privatisation of Meltron. Natelco had to declare in the court yesterday its acceptance or rejection of the offer. "The court allowed Mewa to withdraw its petition," added Dighe.

 

Natelco's rejection has caused losses worth millions of rupees to the state exchequer and to the employees of Meltron, Mewa president A Ghumare said. After floating the tender, Meltron's management halted production at its units in Mumbai, Aurangabad and Nagpur. However, the company enjoys a good name and the withdrawal by Natelco is a challenge to the state government. It remains to be seen whether it is accepted, he added.

The state government had cleared Natelco's bid last week but insisted that the 8000 sq feet Nariman Point headquarters of Meltron would not be handed over to it.

The decision was prompted by the fact that a private body, the Jadhav -Deshmukh Trust had staked its claim to it. The head of the trust Aba Jadhav is allegedly close to Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. His son Jayant Jadhav was murdered last year.

The Maharashtra government had floated the tender for the privatisation of the wholly-owned state government undertaking after it incurred losses in 1995-96.