Kerala CM urges PM against HLL’s disinvestement

Thiruvananthapuram, June 16 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi that mini ratna HLL Lifecare be retained as a public sector company and the government not disinvest its stake.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Vijayan noted that any disinvestment will not only affect the more than 5,000 HLL employees but society as the company plays a vital role in the country's health sector as well as the population control programmes.

He said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare should be directed to see that the Thiruvananthapuram-headquartered HLL is retained in the public sector.

"Moreover, the Kerala government has not been taken into confidence on this aspect. The state government has given 19 acres of land to the company for free. Over the years this company has done a huge service to the society through its various programmes and hence no attempts should be made to disinvest the company," he added.

With speculations rife that HLL is going to be disinvested as per the directives of the NITI Aayog, its various trade unions had staged a protest here last week against any such move.

HLL, formerly Hindustan Latex, was set up here in 1966. From a 'Nirodh' company, it has come a long way and has now entered the money spinning 'sexual wellness products' industry with products like lubricants, gels, lip shaped vibrating rings, a special 1,500 dotted and a scented condom.

They have also diversified into setting up of cost effective state of the art health care facilities, which includes a string of hospital in north India and also medical laboratories which offer various medical tests at very low rates.

Of late, they have also entered into civil construction and built structures for various clients.

HLL has production units in various states like Karnataka, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh besides Kerala.