The disinvestment process of two oil PSUs, that is, HPCL and BPCL got major boost on Monday with the Supreme Court stating that the fact that petitions challenging the same were pending in the court need not deter the centre from privatising the two oil majors. The Delhi High Court also gave a stay order on the proposed three day strike, starting tomorrow, called by the employees of HPCL and BPCL to protest against the privatisation of the two oil PSUs. Mumbai High Court had earlier given a stay order to the employees of BPCL against the strike.However, not relying solely on the stay orders from the High Courts, the government has put in place a massive contingency plan to ensure that supplies of petro products are not disrupted due to the strike. Apart from other measures, the contingency plan also include requisition of three units of territorial army to ensure functioning of refinery, pipelines and LPG bottling plants.Earlier in the day, adjourning the hearing on a writ petition filed in the Supreme Court by the Federation of All India Petroleum Traders, a bench comprising of Justice M.B. Shah and Justice Arun Kumar said pendency of the petition in the apex court “shall not be construed as any stay of the HPCL, BPCL disinvestment process.”While the employees of HPCL and BPCL are hell-bent on going ahead with the three day strike from Tuesday to protest against the government’s decision to privatise the oil PSUs, the government is gearing up to meet the challenge. Talking to The Indian Express, petroleum secretary B.K. Chaturvedi said: “a contingency plan is in place and there will be no difficulty in ensuring petro product supplies to consumers. We have also requisitioned for three units of territorial army to prepare for any eventuality during the strike.”The officers of the two firms have decided to abstain from the strike called to protest the government decision to privatise HPCL and BPCL.Besides, Reliance Petroleum and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals too have been asked to ramp up their production to bridge any shortfalls in supplies of petroleum products that may occur due to the strike, Chaturvedi said. Further, the government’s plans to maintain uninterrupted supplies of petro products received a shot in the arm when the Delhi High court restrained HPCL and BPCL employees from proceeding with the strike. “For the last few days the ministry has been holding extensive meetings to counter the strike”, Chaturvedi said. However, according to Oil Sector Officers’ Association president Ashok Singh the HPCL as well as BPCL employees would defy the court orders and “there would be a complete shutdown of operations from tomorrow.”
