A consortium of GVK and L&T has lost a 200-MW hydel project in Uttarakhand.
A Division Bench of the Uttarakhand High Court has ordered the cancellation of the award to the consortium and directed the State Government to hand over the project to Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.
On Friday, the Court directed the State to award the 200-MW Mapang Bogudiyar hydel power project to Reliance Infra, the second highest bidder. The company had challenged the award of the Mapang project and 170-MW Bogudiayar Sirikari to the Consortium.
The Bench ruled that the award of both projects was
Reliance Infra had challenged the award of the two projects to the Consortium contending that the State relaxed mandatory bid conditions of net worth and net cash accrual.
Terming the relaxation as arbitrary and illegal, the Court ordered the State to award the 200-MW hydro project to Reliance Infra.
In February 2004, the Uttaranchal Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd invited proposals to implement five hydrel projects in the State, including Mapang and Bogudiyar. The cost of the Mapang project was estimated at Rs 860 crore then.
The bid stipulated that in case of a bid by a consortium, the net worth and net cash accrual of the lead partner should not be less than 26 per cent of the net worth and net cash accrual of the consortium.
It was contended that the net worth and net cash accrual of GVK, the lead member, was 11 per cent and 14 per cent of the consortium. Despite this, the State pre-qualified the consortium of GVK and L&T for submission of the financial bids. The State awarded both the projects to the GVK-led consortium.
On November 11, 2010, a single-judge bench ordered cancellation of the Mapang Bogudiyar project and directed the State to decide again on the allotment. Subsequently, the petitioner and the respondents challenged the order.
When contacted, the Chief Financial Officer of GVK, Mr Isaac A. George, said, “The company is yet to receive details of the order. We need to study the judgement.”
GVK now has a portfolio of hydel projects in North India, including an 850-MW project in Jammu & Kashmir.