Water is the need of the future, says Bombay High Court

Water is the need of the future, says Bombay High Court

Narsi BenwalUpdated: Wednesday, May 29, 2019, 12:56 AM IST
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Mumbai: Observing that water is the ‘need of the future’ and it needs to be preserved the Bombay High Court upheld the policy decision of the Maharashtra government to restore the capacity of five major dams by removing the silt in a mechanised and systematic activity.

The HC said the conditions imposed by the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) on potential bidders for the desilting work, are legal.

A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre dismissed a bunch of petitions challenging the conditions imposed by the MKVDC in its tenders, accusing the authority of formulating the conditions in a fashion, by which a particular contractor would be favoured.

The petitioner-contractors claimed that the tenders had certain conditions which only M/s Mahalaxmi Audyogik Sahakari Sanstha Limited fulfils and thus, the said conditions were arbitrary.

“The focus the government in implementing the pilot project is to ensure maximum utilization of the five major dams in the state and it also involves an overwhelming public interest since the water from these dams is a need of the future,” the judges said.

“The eligibility criteria for qualification cannot be said to demonstrate a pick and choose policy as it is made applicable to every bidder who intends to enter into a contractual relationship with the government with the avowed purpose of restoration of the capacity of the dam,” the judgment reads.

The judges in their judgment, said the challenge by these contractors to various conditions of the tender, claiming it would elude them from participating in the tender process cannot be a ground for consideration. They further noted that the government is implementing this project as a pilot project.

“When the government is experimenting, in our opinion, it should be given more latitude and let it learn by its own experience before implementing the said project in respect of the other dams/reservoirs within its jurisdiction,” the judgment authored by Justice Dangre reads.

The authorities have devised the terms and conditions of the tender by taking into consideration the work which they contemplated and therefore, they have prescribed the necessary machinery and the capability criteria for the participants to comply with, the judgment adds further.

The bench further said it has a limited role for interference in the terms and conditions as it involves a technical issue. “The terms and conditions of the tender are not open to judicial scrutiny unless and until they are arbitrary or discriminatory. The government, in our opinion, should be given the liberty to decide what it expects to do,” Justice Dangre has said.

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