After L&T's challenge, MMRDA scraps tenders for 14k cr road projects
Mumbai/New Delhi: In a major relief for construction major Larsen & Toubro, MMRDA informed a
Supreme Court
vacation bench that it has in public interest scrapped its tenders for the Thane-Ghodbunder- Bhayandar twin tunnel and elevated road projects — estimated together at Rs 14,000 crore — and that it would possibly reissue fresh ones, but added it is for the state govt to take a call on, reports Swati Deshpande.
The matter reached SC after L&T challenged MMRDA's decision to reject its technical bids for the projects. Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, which was a prominent purchaser of electoral bonds prior to being scrapped by SC, was declared the successful bidder.
CJI B R Gavai remarked Friday this is the era of transparency and that the court was concerned with the larger public interest. The bench had Thursday also expressed surprise that technical bids of a firm which had built Central Vista and Atal Setu were rejected.
After a Supreme Court bench of CJI B R Gavai and Justices A G Masih and A S Chandurkar was informed Friday about scrapping of the bidding process for the two projects, the SC disposed of the L&T's appeal as infructuous. "It is for the Maharashtra govt to take a call on whether to invite fresh tenders for the two projects," said MMRDA counsel solicitor general Tushar Mehta and Mukul Rohatgi.
The elevated road project proposed a 9.8km overbridge along Vasai Creek and is part of an extension of Mumbai Coastal Road Project.
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The Road Tunnel Project involved design and construction of a five-km long twin road tunnel from Gaimukh to Fountain Hotel junction on Thane Ghodbunder Road.
The Supreme Court in its order noted both Mehta and Rohatgi for MMRDA "fairly submitted that the state has decided to scrap the entire tender process in the larger public interest and will take such steps, as are advised". The SLPs were thus rendered infructuous, said SC.
L&T went to the high court on May 13, the day the financial bids were to be opened for the second-largest road project after Atal Setu. It said MMRDA was flouting instructions to bidders and PWD and CVC guidelines of informing bidders of the technical bid round outcome, which precedes the opening of price bids. In court, MMRDA said L&T and two others of the five bidders were found "non-responsive" or disqualified, and it was not mandatory to intimate the results to the bidders before the final winning or lowest bidder (L1) was selected post the last and financial round.
L&T senior counsel A M Singhvi and Kapil Sibal informed the Supreme Court the difference between the L1 and its client was over Rs 3,100 crore. No other bidders were made party by L&T to its petitions. Before the Bombay High Court, L&T senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas also said "hypothetically" if in one project there were two tenders—one for the tunnel and one for the elevated road—the difference was over Rs 2,000 crore, would the public exchequer not suffer?
The high court vacation bench dismissed the L&T petitions on May 20, citing MMRDA's argument of it being a large public infrastructure project which could brook no delay and the fact that the company participated in the bidding process and did not challenge the terms of the tender.
L&T immediately challenged the high court order before the SC. On Monday, the Chief Justice-led bench wondered aloud in court how L&T could have been found technically disqualified and asked MMRDA to consult the state and see if it was willing to re-tender the project, else it would pass orders on Thursday. On Thursday, MMRDA counsel, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Mukul Rohatgi, informed the high court that it was in touch with the govt top brass and sought a deferment to Friday.
Last Oct, after L&T moved HC, MMRDA extended the tender deadline by 60 days for its two mega projects.
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