Ravi Uppal, Managing Director and CEO, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), is worried as he prepares to face the company’s board of directors at the end of the second quarter. This is because of the uncertain fate of JSPL’s almost ₹50,000-crore investment based on coal blocks, which is under dispute now.

While Uppal would like to be optimistic, the Supreme Court’s decision on the Government’s coal block allocations could have a significant impact on some of his future investment plans, including the expansion of the Tamil Nadu power plant at a cost of about ₹12,000 crore.

Talking to BusinessLine , Uppal said that despite these uncertainties, the company continues to be committed to its investments in India while pursuing overseas opportunities. Excerpts:

Were you prepared for the uncertainties you face today when you were allocated the coal blocks?

We had no idea. We got the coal mines in 1996, 1998, 2003, and at that time we never thought that something like this would happen.

The mines were given on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Secretaries of State Governments, which for us was a commitment.

What are your investment numbers like?

There are two parts to our investments – (those) already made and (those) in the pipeline. In Tamil Nadu, we have spent ₹6,000 crore for a 1,000-MW power plant which is already running; in Raigarh (Chhattisgarh), we have spent ₹12,000 crore for a 3.5-million-tonne-per-annum steel plant; in Angul (Odisha), where we have steel manufacturing, coal gasification and a captive power plant, we have spent ₹18,000 crore.

We have plans to invest ₹12,000 crore to expand the Tamil Nadu plant. Our total investments in all geographies amounts to ₹65,000 crore, while our net worth is ₹20,000 crore. It is now that the harvest time is coming for our company’s investments.

What do you tell your investors now?

Our investors have been asking the same questions as the media has been asking me, (all) based on what was heard at the Supreme Court. My answer is, unlike with the 2G verdict, the Court has not found fault with the applicants (developers) in the coal issue. Therefore, we remain untainted as far as any blemish is concerned.

The point is that developers and banks who have invested cannot be punished.

What about the Board of Directors? You are closing the second quarter, so what do you tell them?

We are doing the best we can but sometimes, unfortunate things keep hitting you. The issue of the coal blocks is one such.

We have almost doubled our capacity in all our businesses. The focus always has been on reducing our debt. But, under the current circumstances, we have put on hold our further investment programmes.

Are you prepared for adversities if the Court decides that blocks are to be de-allocated?

I hope that the Government does not take an extreme measure and de-allocate all the coal blocks. At stake is lot of investment.

For example, we have level-1 environment clearance for the Jitpur mine which would feed the power plant that is to come up in Godda, Jharkhand. Land acquisition is 75 per cent complete.

But, if they cancel it, then the fate of Godda project will be sealed. It will not make sense for us to continue with the project and we would have to abandon it.

Do you think the coal blocks allocated were undervalued by the Government?

In 1993, Coal India was asked to draw up a list of mines to be handed over to private sector. These mines had 45-50 per cent ash content in the coal. The industry had to set up large number of washeries to clean the coal and derive value out of it. So the value of the mines given to private sector was very poor.

The private sector was always blamed about how they took the Government for a ride but it was never acknowledged about how we derived value from such a poor and unproductive asset.

Given what has happened, are you still optimistic about doing business in India?

India has been our main market. Exports are growing but that is to supplement our Indian business. We are not going to slam the door shut in India and go over to the export market. We have to give time to the new Government.

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