Don't open bids for Thane road tunnel for one more day: Bombay HC
Bombay HC
MUMBAI: The
Bombay high court
vacation bench on Wednesday requested
MMRDA
not to open
financial bids
until Thursday in the tendering process for the Thane-Ghodbunder to Bhayandar tunnel and
elevated road project
. This project is the second-longest proposed flyover after Atal Setu.
The HC, which heard a petition filed by construction giant
Larsen & Toubro
(L&T), one of the bidders who invoked the court's plenary power to ensure "transparency and fairness" in the bidding process, said it would take up the matter again on Thursday.
On Tuesday, when L&T first moved the HC, the vacation bench of Justices Kamal Khata and Arif Doctor restrained MMRDA from opening the bids scheduled for May 13, until Wednesday.
On Wednesday, senior counsel A M Singhvi from Delhi and Janak Dwarkadas in Mumbai argued for L&T, one each for the tunnel and elevated road project bid, to say MMRDA cannot oust them from being present and participating in opening of financial bids.
For MMRDA, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi and solicitor general Tushar Mehta argued that of the five-odd bidders, others were also found non-responsive in both projects at the technical bids stage and would be informed once the final bidder was selected.
Dwarkadas said L&T was not intimated about the technical bids status and it was only in court that MMRDA's Mehta orally said it was found non-responsive. "Oral communication is the worst form of arbitrariness," said Dwarkadas.
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When the bench asked MMRDA if they could give in writing to L&T their ineligibility, Mehta said "contract terms are so designed to avoid litigation during the tendering process stage." L&T said it came to court to enforce its right to participate as a bidder.
MMRDA said it was open to unsuccessful bidders to challenge later after the lowest bidder is selected, and they would not be left remedyless. Both Rohatgi and Mehta said the project was large and in the
public interest
and could "brook no further delay."
Dwarkadas said hypothetically if L&T is found to be the lowest bidder by Rs 2,000 crore and if it finds later its technical bids were rejected arbitrarily, would the state exchequer not be the sufferer? Rohatgi said L&T didn't disclose the clauses of the bid documents which allow MMRDA not to inform the bidder of its ouster during the bidding process-terms identical to the bullet train project and hence for "suppression" alone their plea should be "dismissed with exemplary costs.
" Besides, he argued since they participated in the bidding process, they are stopped from challenging the process now. HC will hear and is likely to pass orders in the matter on Thursday.
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