Supreme Court today allowed Haryana to issue fresh tenders for construction of the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressway around Delhi to decongest and de-pollute roads.
The apex court directed the authorities to stick to the deadline of completing the tendering process within two months and ensure that the construction activity takes off within a month thereafter.
The Supreme Court had in 2005 asked the Centre to complete the project by 2016. But it was hit by dispute between the erstwhile concessionaire and state government.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, also cleared the deck for the new concessionaire to go ahead with the stalled project, saying all pending disputes between the old concessionaire and the authorities would be decided through arbitration and should not come in the way of the project.
It said the issue of Rs 1,300 crores raised by the old concessionaire has to be considred as nobody could be deprived of their rights.
The direction came after Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the apex court that Haryana has decided to go ahead with a new concessionaire for the expressway project and has sought permission of the apex court to award fresh contracts.
It was submitted that the new BJP government in the state was not in favour of continuing with the old concessionaire. The Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation, during the previous regime's tenure, was "wrong" in computing the payment of Rs 1,300 crores to the previous project executor.
However, the bench, which also comprised justices Arun Mishra and Adarsh Kumar Goel, was unhappy with the progress of the project which has been moving at snail's pace since 2005.
"At this rate, the work cannot start even in two decades. We are concerned with start and finish of the Expressway. Progress is important to us.
"We grant two months to Haryana to award contracts and another one month to start work at the Expressway. We will not extend this time limit," the bench said and asked the government not to indulge in blame-game on grounds of change of regime.
"With change of government, you cannot be running away. Political parties will come and go but the change of government should not come in the way of the project," the bench observed.
