Owing to the apparent lack of transparency in the bidding process, yet another major infrastructure project has run into legal hurdles.
The Delhi High Court has put a stay on the opening of financial bids for the Rs 1,500 crore Hyderabad-Vijaywada four-lane project. The 192 kilometere stretch comes under National Highways Development Programme, Phase III.
A bench comprising Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Manmohan stayed the bidding process, on a petition filed by Reliance Infrastructure.
The matter would now come up for further hearing on September 18. ?We have been asked by the Delhi High Court not to sign the contract for the Hyderabad-Vijaywada project,? said a top National Highways Authority of India official. This will further delay the project to connect central Andhra Pradesh with the coast. It has already suffered controversies relating to shortlisting of bidders.
The initial list of bidders prepared by the NHAI in June was changed in August, after disqualified companies sent represetaions to the road transport ministry. Maytas, Nagarjuna Constructions, GVK, and L&T , Isolux- Soma and Shapoorji Pallonji are now in the fray to submit the financial bids.
The revision in the bidders list occurred after the project came under the scrutiny of the ministry, when it received representations against the shortlisted players. The ministry got representations against the shortlist from Reliance Infrastructure, Macquarie Scurrilities (Asia) and Isolux-Soma-Omaxe consortium. A two-member committee was subsequently set up by the ministry to look into the matter.
The committee asked the NHAI to take a re-look at the qualification exercise. In the review exercise, NHAI removed GMR led consortiums and Madhucon replacing them with Isolux-Soma and Shapoorji Pallonji.
Since Reliance Infrastructure did not still figure in the list, it has now filed a petition in the Delhi High Court.