HC issues notice to TANGEDCO

The Madras High Court today ordered issue of notice to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited on a plea filed by a China-collaborated consortium seeking a direction to decide tenders floated by TANGEDCO to set up thermal power plants at Ennore as per Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act 1998 read with a tender clause.
While issuing a notice returnable by August 14, Justice M.Sathyanarayanan, before whom the plea came up, reserved the orders on a miscellaneous petition filed by the firm Central Southern China Electric Power Design Institute (CSEPDI)-Trishe Consortium, Chennai, seeking interim injunction restraining TANGEDCO from finalising tenders without considering its representations made on different dates.

TANGEDCO floated tenders on the Debt-cum-EPC model for setting up the 2X660 MW thermal power plants in which names of the firm and BHEL were shortlisted.
The main contention of the firm was that as per clause 29 of the terms and conditions, tenders submitted by the firms, whose performance was poor in the past, should be rejected.
The petitioner contended the implication of the above Clause read with Sections 10 (1) and 10 (2) of The Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998 is clear that tendering authority has to apply its mind to past performance of the tenderer and if on the basis of such materials as are brought to its attention it is satisfied that the bidder has failed to perform to the optimum level, then it should proceed to disqualify the bidder.

The petitioner submitted tenders have been awarded earlier to the BHEL by TANGEDCO and alleged there was plenty of material to show the poor performance of BHEL.
The petitioner submitted several representations detailing these facts but there was no reply from TANGEDCO and reliably given to understand that ignoring all the above facts TANGEDCO will proceed to award the tender in favour of BHEL.
Hence, there was no other option except to approach the court, the petitioner said and prayed for a direction to TANGEDCO to finalise the tenders according to Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act read with clause 29 of the terms and conditions of the Tender.