Fresh turmoil brewing between L&T and MMRDA. Just days after MMRDA scrapped two tenders following the Supreme Court hearing, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has asked Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to share detailed financial estimates from its earlier bid, as per a report by Indian Express. MMRDA has given L&T seven working days to submit all required documents.
According to The Indian Express report, in a June 10 letter, MMRDA told L&T that since the company had voluntarily submitted its bids to the SC, the authority now wants the detailed financial estimates, calculations, rate analysis, and justifications that were part of those bids.
The letter said, “In the spirit of transparency and larger public interest, it is prudent to re-examine L&T’s estimates.” The authority added that it aims to ensure “completeness of the bid records” before starting the new tender process, reports The Indian Express.
L&T had quoted Rs 6,498 crore for the tunnel project and Rs 5,554 crore for the elevated road.
MMRDA scraps Rs 14,000 crore tenders after Supreme Court intervention
This has come just a week after MMRDA scrapped two tenders worth Rs 14,000 crore for the Thane-Ghodbunder to Bhayandar tunnel and elevated road projects following a Supreme Court hearing on May 30.
L&T reached the Supreme Court, saying that its price bids for the two Mumbai infrastructure projects were over Rs 3,000 crore lower than the selected bidder, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure (MEIL). L&T claims that compare to MEIL, L&T’s bid was Rs 2,521 crore less for the tunnel project and Rs 609 crore less for the elevated road project
According to The Indian Express, MMRDA now plans to use L&T’s earlier estimates to help revise the base cost before calling for fresh tenders.
Cancelled projects part of Coastal Road extension: To link Thane to Mira-Bhayandar
The two cancelled projects were part of the Mumbai Coastal Road extension. The first is a 5-km twin tunnel between Gaimukh in Mira-Bhayandar and Fountain Hotel junction in Thane, estimated to cost Rs 8,000 crore. The second is a 9.8-km elevated creek road bridge connecting Bhayandar to Ghodbunder Road in Thane, with an estimated cost of Rs 6,000 crore.
What has happened so far?
MMRDA’s decision to cancel the bidding followed a legal battle. On May 20, the Bombay High Court rejected L&T’s plea, which claimed MMRDA had unfairly excluded the company’s bids. L&T then approached the Supreme Court.
On May 29, the Supreme Court, after examining L&T’s submitted price quotes, told MMRDA to re-tender the projects and warned that failure to do so might lead the court to stay the tendering process.
The next day, the SC noted MMRDA had “fairly” stated that the state decided to cancel the tender process “in larger public interest.” The court then disposed of L&T’s appeal as “infructuous”.
Following the SC hearing, MMRDA issued a press statement saying it was considering a “downward revision of the base cost by approximately Rs 3,000 crore” based on L&T’s disclosure.