Plan for power utility merger

The Mamata Banerjee government on Monday sanctioned the merger of Durgapur Projects Ltd (DPL), a loss-making power utility, with the principal state-run utilities for generation, distribution and transmission. Sources said the move was intended at absorbing the losses and save the jobs of 3,000-odd employees.DPL has a negative net worth - the company's liabilities exceed its assets plus shareholders equity - of Rs 1,000 crore, with losses to the tune of around Rs 200 crore every fiscal for a decade.The decision of the merger was approved at a meeting of the state cabinet on Monday. Bengal power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said the process would begin soon.Chattopadhyay said the assets and liabilities of DPL would be divided proportiona.....