NBCC CMD Anoop Mittal relinquishes post after govt denies extension

The government has denied NBCC Chairman Anoop Kumar Mittal service extension till his date of superannuation, resulting in his demitting office a good 10 months before he would have retired.

Sources said Mittal's term came to an end on March 31, 2019 and he was entitled for extension till he attained superannuation age of 60 years in January 2020 but the government refused to extend his services.

Mittal has since relinquished his office.

His charge has been temporarily given to a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, they said.

Mittal, a career engineer, was appointed as head of the state-owned construction firm in 2013 for a five year period. Last year, he was given a one-year extension till March 31, 2019.

Sources said NBCC's parent ministry had recommended extension of his service till January 31, 2020 but the approval of the competent authority did not come.

Mittal joined NBCC in 1985 as assistant engineer and rose through the ranks to head the company, which is into project management consultancy and real estate businesses. It has bagged many prestigious projects in the last few years, including the redevelopment of Pragati Maidan in central Delhi.

He is not the first person to have been denied an extension of service. The previous UPA government had denied Subir Raha the same as head of ONGC, P Banerjee as chairman of GAIL India Ltd and Sarthak Behuria as Indian Oil Corp (IOC) head.

When contacted, Mittal confirmed the development and said a new CMD with five year tenure should be appointed for the growth of the company.

"I am really thankful to the government and NBCC for giving me an opportunity to serve the company for six years," he told PTI.

Talking about his tenure, he said NBCC has become a large company with an order book of around Rs 90,000 crore.

The company has established itself as a major player in redevelopment projects with self-generating revenue model, he said.

Mittal said the company has shown willingness to take up stalled projects in Delhi-NCR for the benefit of all stakeholders, including home buyers.

NBCC has bid for acquiring Jaypee Infratech, which is undergoing insolvency process. It is also completing some projects of Amrapali, as per the direction of the Supreme Court.