Sources in financial institutions confirmed that the company has sought more time at a recent review meeting. FIs led by Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) asked the company to bring in Rs 100 crore and deposit it in the escrow account of banks as a precondition for okaying a restructuring package.

It is believed that JCT approached other Thapar group affiliates to mop up funds for the recast. But a senior company official denied this by saying that no such initiatives were taken.

JCT is yet to comply with some other conditions which the FIs had set including the appointment of audit sub-committees, sources said. However, the FIs recommendation for the reconstitution of the JCT board has been complied with through the recentinduction of former Bank of India chairman G Kathuria and chartered accountant Satish Ajmera.

The FIs are examining a proposal by JCT for the setting up of asset sale panels for the early disposal of real estate and its steel plant at Hoshiarpur in Punjab. The JCT board has approved the formation of the committee comprising nominees of IFCI, IDBI and promoters at its meeting on April 30.

The committee's priority will be the sale of land measuring 15 acres at Phagwara in Punjab. Once this is done, the panel will expedite the sale process of the company's steel unit in Hoshiarpur. The company is reprtedly in talks with Tata SSL for the sale of its steel plant but nothing has been finalised yet.

The company's plan to dispose of its corporate headquarters in Mumbai is yet to materialise though it has been on the block for quite some time now. It has already appointed noted international property consultants Knight Frank to find a buyer for the corporate house.

A delay in the approval of the recast packagewould jeopardise JCT's chances to become a slimmer and profit-making organisation analysts said. The company is planning to hive off the synthetic fibre division into a seperate company after Indonesian major Polysindo backed out of a deal after signing an MoU. It dropped the plan as JCT demanded a higher revision in the price due to an uptrend seen in the polyester prices.