Mumbai: The price of Olectra Greentech Ltd shares plunged by as much as 14 per cent in the stock market on Tuesday to touch an intraday low of Rs 1,160 in morning trade, as the Maharashtra government decided to scrap the order for 5,150 electric buses placed with the company for the state transport service.
In a post on social media platform X, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said that the company had failed to deliver even a single bus from the 1,000 units scheduled for handover by May 22. Sarnaik said officials had been directed to cancel the tender for 5,150 buses due to the supplier's inaction, raising questions about the project's viability.
"We had an agreement with Olectra since January 2024, under which they were supposed to deliver over 2,000 buses by now. We had planned our operations accordingly to serve the people. But they have only delivered 220 buses so far," Sarnaik told NDTV Profit.
He further added that the government had expected at least 1,200 buses by May 2025, but that too did not materialise. "How long are we supposed to wait? We have sought legal advice to move ahead with contract cancellation," Sarnaik said.
The state government has already invested more than Rs 600 crore to build charging infrastructure in anticipation of the full fleet. “It’s not that their buses are faulty. We just need the buses to serve people. We can’t wait indefinitely for a contractor," he said.
The minister said that the government has sought legal advice and is preparing to initiate court proceedings.
With the cancellation of the Maharashtra government contract, Olectra Greentech’s order book has been halved from over 10,000 buses to around 5,000.
Olectra denied receiving any official termination notice. But Sarnaik pointed out that the state government has sent multiple notices, including three official communications from the Principal Secretary himself.
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