Subrata Roy says will approach SC to deposit fresh title deeds to bank

A week after the Supreme Court restricted Sahara chief Subrata Roy from leaving the country for failing to furnish proper title deeds worth Rs 20,000 crore to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Roy said he would seek the court's permission to deposit the deeds to a nationalised bank.

In an order dated October 28, the court had directed Sahara to deposit unencumbered title deeds of its assets of Rs 20,000 crore as a guarantee against deposits raised by the company thorough optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs).

Sebi had found some of the deeds unacceptable, owing to the absence of original deeds and overhaul of valuations. The regulator had raised objections on Sahara's OFCDs, as these violated norms for raising deposits from the public.

Sahara had identified fresh title deeds out of its total immovable assets worth about Rs 1,20,000 crore and would comply with the Supreme Court order, Roy said. "Sebi wants to kill time; we want to save time. Sebi has got an order from the Supreme Court for verification of all investors. But so far, it hasn't started even with one. This is clearly a vengeance situation," he said.

He added Sahara's deposit-taking business continued to grow. Currently, the company had outstanding public deposits worth Rs 35,000 crore. Sahara would continue with its expansion plans and hire about 48,000 mid-level executives in nine-10 months and about 250,000 lower-level employees in the next two and half years, he said. Revenue from new investments in the next eight-10 years would touch Rs 18,00,000 crore, Roy said. The company's investments include a mega township project across 500 acres, a 500-bed hospitality project in West Bengal, and a dairy project in Madhya Pradesh. This apart, the company would invest in the education sector and create about 18,000 classrooms in the near future, he said. Roy accused Sebi of undervaluing Sahara's property deeds submitted earlier. Asked why the company failed to furnish original title deeds, Roy said the original deeds were lost in floods.

"For properties with a government circle rate of Rs 5 crore an acre and market price of Rs 9.5 crore an acre, Sebi could manage to get valuations at Rs 54 lakh an acre. Today, the fair value of all the assets of the Sahara group is Rs 1,20,000 crore," he said, adding so far, Sahara had already deposited about Rs 22,000 crore with Sebi so far.

The value of Sahara's investments in immovable properties abroad was about Rs 10,500 crore and the company wasn't planning to sell any of its foreign properties, said Roy. Last year, the company acquired two iconic New York hotels - New York Plaza and Dream New York - near Manhattan's Central Park; in 2010, it had acquired Grosvenor House in London.

On succession plans, Roy said in the future, the company would be run by a trust, adding it would never have a profit-making owner.