Sesa Goa MD P K Mukherjee took 39 per cent pay cut in FY'13

NEW DELHI: Sesa Goa's Managing Director and CEO P K Mukherjee took a cut of over 39 per cent in his remuneration during 2012-13 fiscal amid the Vedanta group firm going through its worst period due to mining ban in Goa and non-resumption of operations in Karnataka.


Mukherjee's total remuneration stood at Rs 2.30 crore in the last fiscal, a decline of 39.15 per cent of over Rs 3.78 crore of 2011-12, Sesa Goa's annual report for 2012-13 showed. It said that Rs 5 lakh is yet to be paid to Mukherjee for the last fiscal.

Similarly, company's only other full time Board member Amit Pradhan was paid 21.58 per cent less as remuneration in the last fiscal at Rs 1.49 crore.

According to the annual report, Sesa Goa's expenses on salaries, wages and incentives to its employees declined nearly 5 per cent to Rs 208.60 crore in 2012-13. This excludes contributions made to provident fund and staff welfare spends.

However, the report did not say whether pay cuts for other employees were also implemented.

The iron ore miner also pruned its employee strength by nearly 18 per cent to 3,857 in the last fiscal as against 4,696 in the previous year (2011-12).

In January, Sesa Goa had said that it has deferred payment of 25 per cent of salaries for the top management, including company's Managing Director and other Board members, and 10 per cent for manager level employees. However, no pay cuts were implemented.

Sesa Goa shareholders are meeting today in Goa to approve annual accounts of the company through annual general meeting.

The company, which is based in Goa, has not produced or sold iron ore in last 10 months from the state due to the mining ban. The ban was first imposed by the state government in September last year and subsequently extended by the Supreme Court in October. Mining operations account for 85-90 per cent of Sesa Goa's total business.

The ban was imposed after a report by Justice M B Shah Commission which pegged a Rs 35,000 crore loss to the exchequer due to illegal mining in the state.

Sesa Goa's operations in Karnataka are already closed for more than one and and half years due to a Supreme Court-imposed mining ban in the state. Though the apex court lifted the ban in April from the state with some conditions, the Vedanta group firm is yet to get regulatory clearances to resume operations there.

Cascading effects of closure of mining operations became very much evident on the company as on its own, it reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 131.03 crore in the last fiscal.

On the balance sheet, though, Sesa Goa had managed to show a net profit of Rs 2,280 crore due to Rs 2,411 crore contribution made by its associate firm Cairn India. Sesa Goa holds 20 per cent stake in the oil major.