The High Court of Himachal has taken a serious note of the conduct of a contractor, wherein 66 contracts were awarded to him but none of them has been completed.
A Division Bench, comprising Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Satyen Vaidya passed this order on the petition filed by Sanjeev Kumar Bhandari.
The petitioner Sanjeev Kumar Bhandari, a government contractor, approached the High Court with the claim that work for the construction of Dosa-Ra-Tharu-Putlifald, Lower Brahmfald Jhared Galu, Chanouta road was awarded in his favour.
But vide order dated September 4, 2021, the Executive Engineer, HP PWD, Dharampur Division, District Mandi, re-invited the tender for the aforesaid work.
The petitioner prayed to quash the order regarding the re-tendering of the work in question and to direct respondents to award the tender work in his favour.
During the course of the hearing, the High Court was informed that the petitioner has been awarded as many as 66 contracts or works.
The majority of the works awarded to him have not been started and, if started, have not been completed.
Taking serious note of the whole issue, the High Court has directed the petitioner to file an affidavit clearly setting out therein the timeline within which he would complete the works in question, which either have not been started or, if started, are in the mid-way.
The High Court has further directed that not only the respondents in the present petition, but any other department of the state government, Board, or Corporation, as the case may be, would not release any amount in favour of the petitioner or contractor without the express leave of the Court.
Meanwhile, the Principal Secretary, HPPWD, has been directed to initiate action against the erring official or officer(s) on account of whose negligence, despite the petitioner having defaulted, either in not commencing the works or stopping the same in the mid-way, no action was taken against him and rather they continued to award fresh works to him.
The fresh status report has been ordered to be filed in the matter on July 13, 2023.