The Shiv Sena MP Pradkash Paranjape has appealed to the Centre to allow the take over of the HVOCL on lease rent basis by the Thane Small Scale Industries Association. "Under this scheme, the government will not lose its ownwership nor the shares of the HVOCL. On the contrary, if we run this unit on lease rent basis, the government will get dividend on its share," he added.

Mr Paranjape who represents the Thane parliamentary constituency, in separate letters written to the nine members of the Group of Ministers on Disinvestment headed by the prime minister, said that the government can offer the association nearly 30,000 sq mt of the total 58,000 sq mt possessed by the HVOCL. "The company which has been closed since July last year will get a modest Rs 15 crore based on a prevailing market rate of Rs 5,000 per sq mt through the sale of 30,000 sq mt," he added.

Mr Paranjape said that the association which has a battery of experts would run the company on a cooperative basis and revive its market position.

The renovation, repairs and modernisation of plant and machinery would need around Rs 1.50 crore.

The company's sales dipped at Rs 19.75 crore during 1999-00 from Rs 62.20 crore during 1998-99, following changes in the import duty on refined oil.

The company with a networth Rs 3,76 crore had incurred a loss of Rs 1.45 crore during 1999-00. It had earned a profit of Rs 2.30 crore in 1998-99. He hoped that the government's recent decision to increase the import duty on edible oil would benefit the local farmers and oil extracting units. This decision would also help in the speedy revival of HVOCL. On the voluntary separation scheme, Mr Paranjape said that the centre is implementating a discriminatory policy for its own undertakings. Although it has offered a VSS for the Delhi unit of the HVOC, its offer for the Mumbai unit is unacceptable. He demanded that such a discrimination be stopped and warned of an agitation.