ISLAMABAD, March 22: The Pakistan Steel losses have grown to over Rs10 billion as of June, 2001, and if corrective measures are not taken, this largest integrated industrial complex of the country could become a burden on the public purse.

This was the consensus that emerged at the Ad-hoc Public Accounts Committee meeting held at the parliament house on Friday, with Mr H.U.Baig in the chair.

The committee emphasized the need for introducing a package, comprising various approaches and steps, to streamline PSM’s operational performance, so that it gets out of the red.

Earlier, the PSM chairman apprised the committee of various measures, including a huge cut in the strength of employees, taken to offset losses.

The Principal Accounting Officer, ministry of industries, said that except for the cast billets, all other items produced at the PSM over the last 15 years were not commercially viable.

The Auditor General’s representative viewed PSM’s miserable financial health as an upshot of management’s failure, political decisions and favouritism.

The committee also expressed its disappointment over the dismal financial results of PSM Fabricating Company, a subsidiary of the Mills, which has accumulated losses to the tune of Rs573.991 million as of June 30, 2000.

The meeting was attended by Lt-Gen (retd) Talat Masood, Ahadullah Akmal, Muzaffar Ahmed, M. Hasan Bhutto, S. Shaukat Hussain Kazmi and Mujahid Eshai.

APP ADDS: The Public Accounts Committee took serious note of the losses and directed Principal Accounts Officer of the ministry of industries and chairman PSM to take steps for the restructuring of sale and marketing mechanism aimed at lightening the burden of the national exchequer.

PSM chief informed the committee that a number of disciplinary cases had been initiated against officials, with 11 of them already referred to NAB including against ex-chairman Usman Farooqi.