The proposal containing the names of auditors, asset sale committee members and new directors has been submitted to the FIs as they insisted on these changes as pre-conditions for approving a restructuring plan, a JCT official said. The official, however, refused to identify the names.

The fate of the restructuring plan involving hiving off the company's synthetic-fibre division depends upon what the FIs feel about the proposal, the official added. The Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) is the lead institution.

The board will mostly be revamped by including professionals, especially from the finance field, as the FIs feel that absence of professionalism is hampering the company's prospects, IDBI sources said.

The FIs may decide in favour of a much larger presence in the board in a bid to keep a tight leash on the comapny's activities to facilitate effective restructuring, the sources added.

The committee formed for monitoring the asset sale will have the final say in pricing and other matters, the sources said.

The FIs have also told the promoters that they should pump in more money into the company. It is also believed that the promoters are exploring ways to raise finances from the group itself.

Raising money through the sale of assets appears to be impossible, with the recession acting as a major deterrent. The company has been talking to Tisco and Specialty Steels for the sale of its steel division at Hoshiarpur without any favourable progress.

Likewise, the textile unit at Phagwara is also put on the block, with no buyer in sight owing to floundering textile-industry fortunes. JCT has also asked leading real-estate consultants Knight & Frank to identify a buyer for its prime property in Mumbai.

With polyester prices hitting 35-year lows, the synthetic-fibre division's continuance within the company's fold would cause a major erosion in profitability.

Even after spin-off, it may be difficult to generate buyers' interest for the division, as recession in the polyester industry is expected to continue till 2001.