Relief for L&T as MMRDA scraps tender for Mumbai elevated roads, tunnel projects after Supreme Court rap

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has decided to scrap the earlier tender process for the construction of the ₹8,000 crore Thane-Ghodbunder to Bhayandar road tunnel and ₹6,000 crore elevated road projects..The submission was made during the hearing a plea by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which had alleged that it was unfairly disqualified from the tender process at the stage of considering financial bids, without being informed about the outcome of its technical bid. The Supreme Court had earlier questioned L&T's exclusion, observing that the company was instrumental in the rescue of workers in Uttarakhand and has built key elements of projects like the Central Vista project.A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih had emphasised that transparency is key in such tender processes. Today, a bench of CJI Gavai, Justice Masih and newly-sworn in Justice Atul Chandurkar was informed that the MMRDA has decided to scrap its earlier tender..Representing MMRDA, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi said,"We are scrapping the tender."CJI Gavai appreciated the MMRDA and its counsel for the development."Yes, we are in the era of transparency. We should appreciate Solicitor General (Tushar) Mehta and Mr Rohatgi," the CJI said.The Court then proceeded to close L&T's plea."It is fairly stated that the entire render process is scrapped in larger public interest. Thus the plea is disposed off as infructuous," the Court ordered..L&T had flagged procedural lapses and alleged unfair treatment in the bidding for the Thane-Ghodbunder to Bhayandar infrastructure project, a key part of Mumbai’s urban transport expansion. .During yesterday's hearing, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appeared for L&T and highlighted that the company selected for the project lacked credentials and stressed that the process for selection was opaque..Yesterday, Senior Advocate Rohatgi argued that L&T's disqualification was not “on fanciful grounds” and that certain disclosures were restricted under the tender terms. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, also representing the MMRDA, had requested the matter to be posted today, citing discussions with the executive. Today, the matter was put to rest with MMRDA revealing that it has scrapped its earlier tender process. .L&T' was represented by Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, Dr. Abhishek Singhvi, Ranjit Kumar and Neeraj Kishan Kaul, along with a team from Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas comprising Raunak Dhillon (Partner), Madhavi Khanna (Partner) and Nihaad Dewan (Senior Associate)..[Read Live Coverage]