Cuttack, March 1: Koustuv Group, which recently got clearance from State Level Single Window Clearance Authority for a tin smelting plant at Khurda, has apparently emerged as front-runner in the auction of Orissa Textile Mills (OTM).

The state-owned composite cotton mill winded up in 2002.

Prabhat Ranjan Mallik, the chairman of Bhubaneswar-based Koustuv Group, was the foremost bidder with a fresh offer of Rs 43 crore for the OTM property and assets, including 422 acres of prime industrial land at Choudwar, in the final round of bidding in Orissa High Court yesterday.

The bidding vehicle set up afresh by Koustuv Group before the company affairs bench of Justice I.M. Quddusi plans to use the OTM factory complex for setting up a tin modulation unit.

“Moreover, a medical research centre comprising a state-of-the-art hospital and a medical college have been planned for the future,” said Koustuv Group counsel P. Mukherjee, while making a verbal bidding before the court. Mallik was also present in the company affairs court.

He also assured employment generation with priority for families affected due to closure of the sick mill while indicating seeking SEZ facility from the government.

Justice Quddusi, however, deferred its verdict on the bid till submission of an affidavit by Koustuv Group, stating the offer and utilisation plans. The company affairs court set a seven-day deadline for it.

Earlier on February 8, Koustuv Group and Industrial Development Corporation of Orissa had made offers of Rs 30 crore each, while National Aluminium Company had come up with a Rs 25-crore offer. But the high court had ordered for fresh bidding after 20 days on the ground that the prices offered were “too low”.

Evaluators had estimated OTM’s property and assets at Rs 129.16 crore at the current market price.

Sources said Koustuv Mining and Smelting Private Limited had already committed to invest Rs 95.61 crore while applying for the tin smelting plant at Khurda with refinery at Malkangiri. It had already acquired mining lease for 111.630 hectare of tin ore reserves in Malkangiri.

Koustuv Group of Institutions also includes College of Engineering Bhubaneswar, Koustuv Institute of Self Domain, Bhubaneswar, Koustuv Institute of Technology, Koustuv Institute of Science, Koustuv School of Biotechnology, Koustuv Research Institute and Medical Science and Koustuv Business School. KGI is approved by AICTE of the Union government and affiliated to Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Rourkela.