From taking over sick unit to heading Sarda Group

Nagpur: Kamal Sarda had passed out of the erstwhile Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering (VRCE) in 1974. Four years down the line he invested in a sick unit at Raipur then in Madhya Pradesh. The investment of Rs 5 lakh those days has now grown into a conglomerate having stakes in steel, mining to even agri business.
When asked, Sarda agrees that the worth of all the businesses combined may come to Rs 5,000 crore. He was in the city to attend the diamond jubilee event of his alma mater now known as Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT). The company has recently started coal mining in the Gare Palma VII block in Chhattisgarh which it had bagged through an auction process.
Spaking to TOI on the sidelines of diamond jubilee function, Sarda said the company has also taken up another mine block near Shadol in Madhya Pradesh for commercial exploration. It would take some time to start operations.
Sarda said that the group is also looking for taking up an iron ore mine block in Chhattisgarh. The reserves in the existing block under its possession are fast depleting. He said that the company is open to take a block in Gadchiroli also if the conditions are suitable.
However, Sarda stressed that coal mining should be made more easier for the private companies. Under the current system the investor has to take all the relevant clearances after getting the coal block through an auction process.
“If the government wants to allow mining in a given area it should also secure the required clearances before calling for bids,” he said.
Apart from iron and steel, mining and power business it has recently diversified into agriculture sector too. “We are into production of high yielding hybrid seeds for a range of crops especially vegetables. This helps in increasing the famers income too,” said Sarda.