In an effort to “salvage” the much-delayed project involving the six-laning of Pune-Satara National Highway, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) suspended the rights of the M/s. Reliance Infra-floated SPV M/S P S Toll Road Pvt Ltd and is now collecting the toll to complete the project expeditiously.
This disclosure was made by M/s S P S Toll Road Pvt Ltd in an affidavit filed last week before the Bombay High Court which is hearing in a petition filed by RTI activist-advocate Pravin Wategaonkar and Sanjay Shirodkar seeking a directive to implead M/s. Reliance Infra-floated SPV M/S P S Toll Road Pvt Ltd in the case involving the alleged irregularities in the Pune-Satara toll collection project.
In the affidavit, M/s S P S Toll Road Pvt said that the NHAI – after a meeting with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari held on July 7, 2021 – invoked the Article 36 of the contract, suspended the rights of the Reliance Infra-floated SPV on November 1, 2011 and began collecting the toll revenue of Rs 25 crore per month. The NHAI took the extreme step to “salvage” the project and complete it expeditiously.
The petitioners are seeking criminal action against M/s. Reliance Infra-floated SPV M/S P S Toll Road Pvt Ltd for the alleged irregularities in the Pune-Satara toll collection project. They have sought investigations by the CBI.
Notwithstanding a case sought to be made out by the petitioners against it, Reliance Infra-floated SPV opposed the CBI inquiry against it claiming that no case had been made out against it and urged the court to dismiss the petition.
The high court is likely to hear the petition on March 10.
While hearing a PIL filed by Wategaonkar and Shirodkar, a HC division bench of Justices A.A.Sayyed and Abhay Ahuja had on January 5, 2022 ordered that NHAI be made a respondent in the case. The HC had also ordered that notices be issued to the CBI, ED and NHAI and asked the three parties to file their affidavit by January 24, 2022.
In his application filed before the high court on December 13, Wategaonkar had told the high court that the Union government had amended rules and taken away contractors’ right to collect toll with effect from January 1, 2014 for not completing six-laning of Pune-Satara National Highway as per agreement.