Chatterjee rules out out-of-court settlement with West Bengal government

18-Oct-06

Haldia Petrochemicals' largest stakeholder, The Chatterjee Group (TCG) chairman- Purnendu Chatterjee, has ruled out any out-of-court settlement with the West Bengal government, despite a long standing and persistent dispute. The Chatterjee Group (TCG) chairman has also rejected the possibility of any meeting with CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to arrive at a solution to the vexed problem. It seems that the ball is in CLB's court and the dispute can be settled only by a decision of the Company Law Board (CLB). The CLB has already completed its hearings on the HPL issue and an order is expected soon. Earlier, the CLB chairman had urged the two disputing parties to reach an amicable settlement out of court. However, it seems that the matter has reached a deadlock due to disinterest by both the parties. The dispute started over the handing over of a 7.5% equity stake in HPL to Indian Oil Corporation, which TCG opines will reduce its stake to a minority holding in Haldia Petrochem. TCG also alleges that he was not kept abreast about these developments, a charge denied by the Bhattacharjee government.