The Telangana High Court has imposed costs of Rs 5 lakh on the HMDA for failing to comply with an arbitration award granted over six years ago in favour of Cyberabad Expressway Ltd (CEL).
The case pertains to a concession agreement signed on August 17, 2007, between HMDA and CEL for the design, construction and maintenance of an 8-lane access-controlled expressway from Kollur to Patancheru under the Phase II-A programme of the ORR project. The project was taken up on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) annuity basis.
Following disputes during the course of execution, the matter was referred to arbitration, which concluded with an award on February 27, 2019. As per the award, CEL was granted Rs 140.89 crore towards claims and Rs 39.5 crore as bonus annuity, along with 12% annual interest for a specified period.
However, instead of complying with the award, HMDA challenged it through multiple legal proceedings in the commercial court and the High Court, thereby delaying the execution of the award. The court expressed strong disapproval of HMDA’s conduct.