GUWAHATI, July 17 - With contractors approaching courts against termination notices, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has asked all its branch offices to file caveats in their respective high courts.
A caveat petition is a precautionary measure which is undertaken usually when there is a strong apprehension that some case is going to be filed in the court regarding their interest in any manner. Some offices of the corporation in the region have already filed the caveats. In such an event, the courts have been requested not to pass any order without hearing the NHIDCL.
The move comes after one of the firms M/s TK Engineering moved the court after its contract for four-laning the Nagaon-Rangagara was terminated due to �poor performance.�
The firm is also facing an �intention-to-terminate� notice in another project � the two-laning of Akajan-Likabali-Bame road in Arunachal Pradesh. Sources said the firm has also gone to court against the notice.
The Arunachal Pradesh-based company had begun work on the 18.4-km stretch Nagaon-Rangagara stretch on May 23, 2016. Till May this year � that is in three years� the firm could complete only 1.22 km of the road. The physical progress was 16.4 per cent. �This is despite that fact that 90 per cent of the land was handed over to it and the complete advance money of Rs 15.92 crore released in 2016,� the sources said.
Taking strong exception of the slow progress, the NHIDCL regional office has recommended for termination of another six contracts.
TK Engineering has also got notices of termination on the two other stretches it is engaged � the 26-km Jamuguri-Biswanath Chariali and the 57-km Biswanath Chariali-Gohpur. The progress in these two stretches is 18 per cent and 40 per cent respectively in three years. TK Engineering is implementing the Biswanath Chariali-Gohpur four-laning work jointly with Ramky.
Earlier, the NHIDCL had terminated three contracts due to poor performance. M/s Atlanta Ltd was ousted from the Moran bypass-Bogibeel section, while Corsan Corvium SA had lost both its contracts for four-laning of the Jhanji-Demow and Jorhat-Jhanji stretches. The latter two sections were awarded to M/s GDCL after floating fresh tenders.
