Nagpur: Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for work to begin on the Metro rail stretch from Hingna Road depot to Sitabuldi. It set aside the order issued by Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court in favour of joint venture (JV) between Tata Projects Limited (TPL) and Guangdong Yuantian Engineering Company (GYT). The SC decided on the case within one month preventing further delay in the project.
The work on Sitabuldi-Hingna depot section of Metro rail was slated to begin in April but got stuck due to litigation between Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Limited (NMRCL) and the JV. The litigation started when NMRCL rejected the technical bid of JV. According to NMRCL, the Tata-led JV had experience in construction of high speed rail but not Metro rail.
The JV challenged the decision in Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court, which directed the NMRCL to open its financial bid too. One of the bidders, Afcons, then challenged this order in Supreme Court in the role of an intervener. The SC first granted a status quo on August 22 but decided in favour of NMRCL and Afcons on Thursday.
