Status quo: Funds for monsoon projects to stay with KMC, SHC orders
Court had given a stay order against tenders for infrastructure projects.
Karachi residents witness flood-like situation every year when the monsoons arrive. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
The Sindh High Court (SHC) wants the budgetary allocations for pre-monsoon infrastructure projects to stay with the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).
In an order passed on Thursday, the SHC division bench headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan told the authorities to maintain status quo in a petition filed by contractors. These contractors were awarded tenders for different development projects but a court stay order meant that last year’s budgetary allocations were not distributed to them.
Case history
On April 30, a bench had ordered the KMC, the Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and others to maintain status quo in respect of various infrastructure development projects in the city.
This status quo was ordered on a petition of five private contractors, who had alleged that the procurement agency discriminated in awarding contracts of 20 different projects worth millions of rupees for the construction and improvement of the rainwater drains, sewerage system and roads in different parts of the city.
They had sought nullification of the contracts on the ground that they were deliberately kept away from the awarding process as they were not issued tender applications forms even though they deposited the fee. Hence, they were unable to participate in the bidding process, which was also held on unscheduled dates by the respondents.
Funds lapse
On Thursday, another group of private contractors, who have been awarded the projects, also moved an application for permission to join the proceedings as interveners.
Their lawyer, Faisal Kamal, said that the petitioners, in the earlier case, had filed a frivolous petition despite the fact that they themselves had neither taken part in the bidding process nor complained to the authority about the violations in the process before the tenders were opened. After the tenders were awarded, the petitioners started the litigation and got the process halted through a stay order, he claimed. According to Kamal, the status-quo orders by the court will harm the interveners financially even though they were given contracts lawfully.
Meanwhile, an amount of Rs6 million was deposited by the applicants as security to the government and it is lying idle. The delays in the initiation of the work are causing financial losses to the petitioners and the labour as well, he added.
Kamal also pointed out that the KMC’s procurement wing had allocated money for these projects but it was not released to the applicants due to the restraining order passed by the SHC and the cut-off date to sanction the amount was June 15.
In order to save the interest of the applicants, Kamal pleaded that the amount should remain intact and not be sent back to the Sindh government. The procedure is that all unutilised funds are sent back to the Sindh government. If the budgetary allocation is sent back, the projects will remain incomplete and the residents of Karachi will suffer, he said, adding that the amount is still lying intact with the KMC so far.
Allowing the plea to become intervener, the bench directed the counsel for the KMC to explain their position on the current status of the said budgetary amount on the next date of hearing.
The bench members noted that a status quo order had been passed by the SHC on April 30. They directed the KMC authorities that if the said budgetary amount is still intact and lying with them, the status quo will be maintained till the next date of hearing.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2014.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) wants the budgetary allocations for pre-monsoon infrastructure projects to stay with the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).
In an order passed on Thursday, the SHC division bench headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan told the authorities to maintain status quo in a petition filed by contractors. These contractors were awarded tenders for different development projects but a court stay order meant that last year’s budgetary allocations were not distributed to them.
Case history
On April 30, a bench had ordered the KMC, the Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and others to maintain status quo in respect of various infrastructure development projects in the city.
This status quo was ordered on a petition of five private contractors, who had alleged that the procurement agency discriminated in awarding contracts of 20 different projects worth millions of rupees for the construction and improvement of the rainwater drains, sewerage system and roads in different parts of the city.
They had sought nullification of the contracts on the ground that they were deliberately kept away from the awarding process as they were not issued tender applications forms even though they deposited the fee. Hence, they were unable to participate in the bidding process, which was also held on unscheduled dates by the respondents.
Funds lapse
On Thursday, another group of private contractors, who have been awarded the projects, also moved an application for permission to join the proceedings as interveners.
Their lawyer, Faisal Kamal, said that the petitioners, in the earlier case, had filed a frivolous petition despite the fact that they themselves had neither taken part in the bidding process nor complained to the authority about the violations in the process before the tenders were opened. After the tenders were awarded, the petitioners started the litigation and got the process halted through a stay order, he claimed. According to Kamal, the status-quo orders by the court will harm the interveners financially even though they were given contracts lawfully.
Meanwhile, an amount of Rs6 million was deposited by the applicants as security to the government and it is lying idle. The delays in the initiation of the work are causing financial losses to the petitioners and the labour as well, he added.
Kamal also pointed out that the KMC’s procurement wing had allocated money for these projects but it was not released to the applicants due to the restraining order passed by the SHC and the cut-off date to sanction the amount was June 15.
In order to save the interest of the applicants, Kamal pleaded that the amount should remain intact and not be sent back to the Sindh government. The procedure is that all unutilised funds are sent back to the Sindh government. If the budgetary allocation is sent back, the projects will remain incomplete and the residents of Karachi will suffer, he said, adding that the amount is still lying intact with the KMC so far.
Allowing the plea to become intervener, the bench directed the counsel for the KMC to explain their position on the current status of the said budgetary amount on the next date of hearing.
The bench members noted that a status quo order had been passed by the SHC on April 30. They directed the KMC authorities that if the said budgetary amount is still intact and lying with them, the status quo will be maintained till the next date of hearing.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2014.