NOIDA: Even before work started on the convention and habitat centre, the flagship project of the Noida Authority has hit a hurdle. A row has erupted over whether the government company selected for the Sector 94 project through a bidding process is authorised to carry out the work. The decision on whether the company can be given the go ahead to execute the project will now be taken at a board meeting of the Noida Authority.
Selecting the company itself wasn’t an easy task for the Authority. Bids for the project were floated four times since July. And every time, the participating companies had to be rejected on technical grounds. However, in the latest evaluation of four more companies, the price quoted by Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam (UPRNN), a government firm, was the lowest.
Sources said UPRNN was ready to execute the project at a cost of Rs 410 crore while its closest competitor had quoted Rs 421 crore. The Noida Authority, which had set aside a budget of Rs 433.5 crore for the construction of the 31-storey building and all other civil work, quickly got the plan vetted by IIT-Roorkee.
But then, the project hit its first hurdle. Officials learnt that UPRNN, an undertaking of the state government, had been blacklisted by the Allahabad high court in March this year. Substandard quality of work done by the agency in the past was cited by the court for its decision to bar it from carrying out any work within premises of courts in the state.
Since big ticket projects cannot be granted to any blacklisted company, the Noida Authority sought an immediate clarification from UPRNN. “We have received clarification from UPRNN on some queries, including their status. Their response will be produced before senior officials in the upcoming board meeting. The company will be awarded the tender to execute the project only if the board gives its approval in its favour,” said Ritu Maheshwari, the chief executive officer of the Authority.
UPRNN, according to sources, has claimed in its written undertaking that it was never blacklisted by the UP government or barred from carrying out any work. It clarified that the high court had asked the company not to carry out any work within court premises, but not outside it. “The chairman of UPRNN, who is an IAS officer and also the principal secretary of the public works department, has provided a list of 15 to 16 projects it has been asked by the state government to execute this fiscal,” said a senior official of the Authority.
SK Srivastava, additional managing director of UPRNN, echoed him. “The Allahabad high court’s observations in March pertained to work within the courts only. We have been implementing projects of the UP government and a host of other agencies since then,” he clarified.
Officials in the agency said they were confident they would be awarded the tender to execute the convention and habitat centre project.