Can re-tender be issued in road tunnel project, SC asks MMRDA on L&T plea
This story was originally published at 17:26 IST on 26 May 2025
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Monday, May 26, 2025
NEW DELHI – Hearing a petition by Larsen & Toubro Ltd., the Supreme Court on Monday asked Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority whether a re-tender can be issued for an INR-80-billion project to design and construct an underground road tunnel from Gaimukh to Fountain Hotel Junction on the Thane-Ghodbunder road in Maharashtra. Larsen & Toubro Ltd. on Wednesday had moved the apex court seeking a stay on the opening of financial bids for the tender.
"This is thousands of crores of public money. Please take instructions...Else we will stay this order (of Bombay High Court)," said the top court. Larsen & Toubro was the one chosen to construct the Central Vista project and here this is happening, remarked the apex court. The case will be heard by the apex court on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Bombay High Court had rejected Larsen & Toubro's plea seeking a stay on the opening of financial bids for the project. The high court had asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority to preserve the price bids that were submitted electronically in the tender for two weeks, to allow the petitioner to approach the Supreme Court against its order.
The project is a "mega infrastructure project" of significant public importance, the high court had said, and any delay would adversely affect its execution. "Conversely, no prejudice whatsoever would be caused to the petitioner if all rights and contentions of the petitioner are kept open to challenge the rejection of the petitioner's technical bid as well as the award of the contract," the high court added.
L&T was one of the bidders for the project. In December, it submitted its technical bid. Since then, it has been waiting for the outcome of the evaluation of the technical bids. Recently, it learnt that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority had sent letters to some bidders to remain present for opening of the financial bids on May 13. However, L&T did not receive any such intimation, it said.
The Mumbai authority, being a public authority, is bound to act in a non-discriminatory, fair, and transparent manner, the company told the court, and intimate the petitioner about the outcome of the evaluation of its technical bid before opening the financial bids. "The decision to open financial bids in the absence of the petitioner without intimating them of the outcome of the evaluation of its technical bid is discriminatory and arbitrary and in violation of the principles of natural justice," Larsen & Toubro said.
Earlier, on May 13, the high court, in an interim order, had asked the authority not to open the financial bids for the project till it had heard the company's plea. On Tuesday, the high court rescinded its interim order.
On Monday, the shares of Larsen & Toubro Ltd. ended 1.4% higher at INR 3,648.70 on the National Stock Exchange. End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
