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| Sawalkote Hydel Project contractors challenge fresh tenders | | |
Jammu, Nov 22
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court today restrained the State Government for issuing new global tenders for 1200 MW Sawalkote Hydel Project and directed the Chief Engineer Power Development Corporation to maintain status quo as it exists today till next date of hearing.
These directions were passed by Justice Nirmal Singh of the State High Court in a petition filed by the contractors of the project challenging the decision to cancel EPC contract to the petitioners as also to float fresh global tenders for EPC contract.
Justice Nirmal Singh, after hearing Sr. Supreme Court Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Shinghvi with Ms Ritu Bhalla, Ms Saloni Gupta and Mr. Parnav Kohli Advocates appearing for the petitioners and Advocate General Mr. AH Naik appearing for the state, issued notice to State of J&K through Chief Secretary and Chief Engineer Power Development Corporation Jammu and allowed one weeks time to file the objections and also directed State not to call new global tenders and also directed Chief Engineer Power Development Corporation to maintain status-quo as it exists today till next date of hearing.
In the petition filed through Advocate Pranav Kohli it has been submitted that the petitioners are members of a consortium (Sawalkote consortium) entrusted with the works of designing, executing and completing the 1200 MW Sawalkote Hydro Electric Project in Doda District of J&K State at a cost of Euro 763 Million (crores of rupees), for which consortium has been duly approved by three successive cabinets of Jammu and Kashmir State, first in April 19, 2001, second in December 2005 and lately in April 2006 as well as approved by the Power Development Corporation. The petitioners are Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors for the project and an EPC contract has been entered into between the petitioners and Chief Engineer Power Development Corporation.
It was further submitted in the petition that present petition is being filed on the basis of reports published in the newspapers on November 16 and 17, 2006 that state government has decided to cancel the EPC contract of the petitioners with the Power Development Corporation and also to float fresh Global Tenders for the EPC Contract. It is further submitted that the petitioners having spent considerable amount of time and effort as also huge amount on the project for more than seven years were never informed of the constitution of scope of reference of the Cabinet Sub-Committee nor were ever called upon by the state or the Cabinet Sub-Committee to address and respond to any issue or queries on the basis of which the impugned decision has been arrived at, despite the petitioners letter dated November 11, 2006 to Chief Secretary Government of J&K upon coming to know of the constitution of a Cabinet Sub-Committee to allegedly “review the Sawalkote Project” through media reports. By the said letter, the petitioners offered to assist the committee with all factual information related to the project development contract and consortium structure.
The petition said that the impugned decision of State Government is wholly arbitrary, capricious, whimsical, violative of the principals of natural justice and against public interest besides being based on uninformed and untenable reasoning as gathered by the petitioner from the media reports and suffers from the vice of application of norms/ competitive guidelines that are ex-facie and admittedly neither germane nor applicable to
the instant case as more particularly setout in detail.
The petitioners in the present petition are praying for such impugned action to be quashed and restraining the respondents from acting upon in any manner in furtherance of the impugned decisions against the petitioners.
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