Himachal Pradesh High Court Cracks Down On Contractor Over Incomplete Projects, Restrains Govt From Releasing Any Payment

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has taken a strict stance against a contractor who had failed to initiate or complete a majority of the projects awarded to them.

A bench of Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Satyen Vaidya directed the contractor to file an affidavit clearly setting out the timeline within which he would complete the unfinished projects. The court also directed that no department of the state government would release any amount to the contractor without the express leave of the court.

The court's order came after the contractor Sanjeev Kumar Bhandari filed a petition seeking to vacate an interim order that had been passed in September 2021. In the interim order, the court had restrained the state government from re-tendering a road project that had been awarded to Bhandari.

However, the court found that Bhandari had a history of failing to complete projects that were awarded to him. The court noted that out of the 66 projects that had been awarded to Bhandari, only 12 had been completed. The court also found that Bhandari had not even started work on 25 of the projects.

Criticizing the state government for awarding projects to Bhandari despite his history of failing to complete them, the court directed the Principal Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department (HPPWD) to initiate action against the erring officials who had awarded the projects to Bhandari.

The court, while disposing of the application, emphasized that the petitioner must not evade responsibility for their unfinished projects.

"However, that does not mean that the petitioner will get away lightly by not completing those of the works. The petitioner is directed to file an affidavit clearly setting out therein the timeline within which he would complete the works High Court of H.P. in question, which either have not been started or, if started, are in the mid-way, but have not been awarded to any other contractor thus far", the bench directed.

Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the court has sent a copy of its order to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Himachal Pradesh, as well as to the Engineer-in-Chief of HPPWD (Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department) and I&PH (Irrigation and Public Health Department) to ensure that the relevant authorities are aware of the court's decision and can take appropriate action based on its directives.

The matter will be revisited on 13th July 2023, when the respondents are required to file a fresh status report, updating the court on the progress made in addressing the pending works.

Case Title: Avinash Kumar vs State of H.P. and others a/w connected matters.

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