Reliance plea in SC to lay guidelines for tenders allotment

New Delhi, June 1: Reliance Airports Developers Pvt. Ltd. today pleaded before the Supreme Court that since huge national assets are going to be privatised this court must lay down strict guidelines for allotment of tenders and contracts to private players.

Senior Counsel Mukul Rohatagi appearing for the petitioner Reliance, pleaded before the vacation bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and C.K. Thakker that in order to maintain transparency and fairness in allotting such tenders this court will have to lay down the guidelines as today it is airports tomorrow it may be railway station etc.

The court was hearing arguments on a petition challenging the government decision to award contracts to M/s GMR Infrastructure Ltd. and M/s GVK Industries Ltd for development and modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports respectively.

The court later adjourned the hearing till July 3 directing that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of India for fixing fresh date of hearing in the case.

The hearing was adjourned after the vacation bench found that it would not be possible to conclude the hearing before June 9 when the present bench shall be replaced by another vacation bench.

Reliance Airport Developers have challenged a Delhi high court order dated April 21,2006 dismissing its writ petition seeking to cancel the contracts awarded to its rivals namely GMR and GVK for modernisation of two major international airports having maximum traffic namely Delhi and Mumbai international airports.

The petitioner once again failed to get interim stay against the operation of the impugned high court order.

The two airports have already been given to two firms for development and the projects are worth about Rs 1700 crores.

The petitioner M/s Reliance Airport Developers have challenged the decision of the Airport Authority of India(AAI) on the grounds that Reliance was the highest financial bidder for Delhi Airport and GVK was the highest bidder for Mumbai Airport though it was not technically qualified for the contract.

The advisers unanimously found the petitioner and GMR as qualified at the technical stage.

The petitioner has challenged the government decision as malafide, illegal and arbitrary inspired by some hidden agenda.

UNI