VIJAYAWADA: In what might be seen as a case of contempt of court, the government has not retracted its step on the tenders invited afresh for the execution of Polavaram project even after the AP High Court ordered the suspension of the process of entrusting the hydel power project to another contractor. In fact, the government has also readied the platform for conducting reverse bidding a couple of days ago, and the tender, in which both irrigation and hydel power plant works are clubbed, was on e-procurement website on Thursday.
Incidentally, the tenders were seen on the e-procurement website a day after the State Cabinet ratified the decision to terminate the contract awarded to Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd.When contacted, a senior official said, “There is no contempt of court as the bidding has been live since August 17 and the court issued an order on August 22. That too, the court ordered suspension of the process of entrusting works to another party. But, bidding is just a part of the process of entrustment.
Also, the court also took note of the fact that the tender notification was released already. The bids are being visible on e-procurement website as the platform for conducting reverse bidding is now ready.” The official added that the energy department was closely watching the developments to obey the court order.
However, the court order clearly read, “The respondents (GENCO, Polavaram Project Authority, irrigation department) are directed not to conduct the process of entrustment of work to any third party with regard to Polavaram Hydroelectric project, pursuant to the tender notification dated August 17, and the impugned termination letter dated August 14 is suspended till further orders.”
There is no contempt of court, says official
For the record, APGENCO sent a termination notice to NECL on August 14 and issued a notification inviting bids for both irrigation and hydel power plant works worth `4,987.55 crore -- `1771.44 crore (irrigation) and `3.216.11 crore (power plant) -- on August 17. While NECL, , had given consent to exit from headworks, it moved the court against cancellation of hydel power plant. Subsequently, the court gave orders suspending the move.
As per schedule of tenders, the government has extended the last date to receive bids. While the officials had earlier planned to conduct reverse bidding on September 27, the document says it would be held after October 1. An official told TNIE that even though bidding had begun 19 days ago, no bids have been filed yet. “There have been enquiries, but no bids have been submitted. The agencies are waiting for the pre-bid meeting, which will be held next week. So, we expect bids after that,” the official observed.