Divestment Minister Arun Shourie on Friday indicated that the government had virtually discarded the Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion) target to be realised from divestment proceeds in the current financial year, saying lack of unanimity on the process was hurting the efforts.

"Court cases, state government saying one thing or the other... what is the point in having a target? I do not now regard any figure as a target," Shourie told reporters on the sidelines of an Open House on Exim Policy in New Delhi.

"Unless everybody puts his shoulder to the same wheel, no target can be achieved", he asserted. "If we pursue a target, you will say we are doing so just to bridge the fiscal deficit," he said in a retort to critics.

In response to a question, he said proceeds in the region of around Rs 3,500 crore (Rs 35 billion) had so far been realised from divestment in the current fiscal.

Shourie indicated that efforts were being made to hold a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment regarding the divestment of public sector oil companies Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited within the next ten days.

"It depends on the convenience of the Prime Minister, as also Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and senior Ministers Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha", he said. 

Noting that they would be busy in the next few days, Shourie said Advani was scheduled to visit Thailand later this month and also French Prime Minister was expected in India on February 4, adding, "we are trying to put a little window somewhere (before February 4)".

Asked if "everything goes well, HPCL and BPCL will be divested", Shourie said he can't say. "In India anything can be tripped anytime," he said. There could be a PIL or strike, the minister commented.

Earlier, in his address at the function, jointly organised by the government of Karnataka and the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, Shourie said there was no point in reviving public sector enterprises and then going in for divestment.

In the last 10 to 12 years, 35 revival packages had been introduced with an investment of Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) and not even a single PSE has been able to revive itself, he said.