Court directs NHIDCL to award contract work to joint bidder

Kohima: Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court has, in a recent order, directed NHIDCL to award  the contract work under Package-III to the joint venture bid of M/s Vilelie Khamo & Sons and M/s Chabou & Co.  for completion of four-lane National Highway between Dimapur and Kohima.

It directed that a fresh contract in terms of the deliberations held on March 29 be executed between the parties.

“The conclusion arrived at in the meeting held between the officials of the NHIDCL and the contractor on March 29, 2023, that the joint venture bid submitted by M/s Vilelie Khamo & Sons and M/s Chabou & Co. for completion of Phase-III of four Laning of Dimapur-Kohima Highway is viable at a much lower cost as compared to the price fixed in fresh NIT and provides the only acceptable solution to the issue at hand,” the order issued by Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice LS Jamir stated.

In the intervening period, NHIDCL floated a fresh notice inviting tender (NIT) for completion of the Package III stretch at the project cost of INR 146.93 crore. As per the deliberations held (supra) on March 29 at the RO, the joint venture bid of M/s Vilelie Khamo & Sons along with M/s Chabou & Co. agreed to complete the project at a cost of INR 119.72 crore, which is almost INR 27 crores lower than the project cost quoted in the fresh NIT.

However, NHIDCL turned down the joint venture proposal and resort to a fresh NIT a day after the meeting, which was “absolutely unjustified, unreasonable” according to the court and “rejected” the fresh NIT.

The court observed that the “pedantic approach of NHIDCL officials, if allowed to prevail,” might lead to further delay of the completion of the Package-III stretch of four-lane National Highway between Dimapur and Kohima without any hope in the future.

It added that M/s. Chabou & Co. competence to construct the road cannot be doubted as the firm/company has been maintaining the road to the satisfaction of the NHIDCL officials for the last nearly two years.

It further directed the contractors to complete the road within the stipulated period in terms of the contract.

Mentioned may be made that the two previous contractors namely M/s. Gayatri Projects Ltd. and M/s Oasis Techno Construction Ltd. failed to complete the Package III project and abandoned the work. 

“The two stretches of the highway are almost complete. If the third stretch remains incomplete, the warranty of the completed stretches may lapse without the Highway becoming fully functional,” the court stated.

It went on to add that the court cannot turn a blind eye and allow such pathetic state of affairs to prevail  indefinitely.

The matter has been listed for hearing on April 26 at 1:15 PM.