Controversies cloud this infra giant's ascent
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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
HC lifts interim stay on investigation into bribery case against employees of L&T, Cognizant, govt officials
Mumbai: The Bombay high court recently lifted an interim stay it had granted on a corruption investigation against employees of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T),Cognizant Technology Solutions, and government officials, observing that the complaint was not filed against the infrastructure company but against its employees. Bombay High Court (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) A division bench of justices AS Gadkari and Rajesh Patil said in its July 23 order that L&T had not been arraigned as an accused in the case by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Pune. Following the directions of a sessions court in April 2024, the ACB had registered an offence against officials of L&T, Cognizant and unknown government officials in an alleged $770,000 bribery case. The case pertains to allegations that IT consultancy Cognizant, through its contractor L&T, had paid bribes worth $770,000 to government officials between 2013 and 2014 to obtain clearances to build a campus in Pune's Hinjawadi. The case was registered based on a March 2024 complaint filed by Delhi-based activist and retired police officer Prit Pal Singh, citing newspaper reports. The sessions court then directed the ACB to investigate Pal's allegations. However, L&T challenged the order in the Bombay high court. In May 2024, a different bench of the high court granted an interim stay on the investigation, citing a prima facie 'jurisdictional error' on the part of the sessions court, among other reasons. L&T had contended that Pal's allegations were 'vague, bogus and malafide', adding that they were based on 'hearsay evidence'. The infrastructure firm also said that it had undertaken the Cognizant project in 2011-12, but Pal had sought an investigation into the case after an 'abnormal delay' of over 10 years. However, senior counsel Ashutosh Kumbhakoni and advocate Manoj Badgujar, arguing for Pal, told the court that L&T had not been arraigned as an accused in the case and, hence, its petition seeking the quashing of the FIR was not maintainable. Representing L&T, senior counsel Amit Desai told the court that they were also seeking the quashing of the April 2024 sessions court order directing an investigation into Pal's complaint. On July 23, a division bench of justices Gadkari and Patil directed the investigation of the crime to continue until the next hearing. '...however, in the event the investigating agency intends to implead the petitioner (L&T) as an accused in the final report, it shall not file the said report qua the petitioner without prior leave of this court,' it said. The case will be heard further on August 20. When contacted, an L&T spokesperson said, 'We will not be able to comment this time.' A spokesperson for Cognizant said, 'We have no comments to offer. Cognizant is committed to complying with the law in all its jurisdictions of operations and will cooperate with the local authorities, as appropriate.'
The Print
8 hours ago
- The Print
L&T exit aside, Bengaluru's suburban rail dream faces another big hurdle—shinier big-ticket projects
L&T approached the court, claiming that only 2.1 km of the workfront, or 8.28 percent of the total length under the project it was contracted to execute, was made available to it. It added that the representations by K-RIDE, government body responsible for executing the project, were 'false, made with sole intention of inducing and deceiving' the company. The Mumbai-based infrastructure major exited the project last week, citing delays in being handed over land for the big-ticket project. L&T terminated its contract to build one of the stretches, and demanded Rs 505 crore. Bengaluru: The acrimonious exit of Larsen & Toubro from Bengaluru's suburban rail project has threatened to delay one of the city's most ambitious mass mobility programmes, yet again. The move has now sparked a blame game between the company and K-RIDE. According to a person aware of the developments, L&T's claim that it did not get the land is not completely accurate. 'There are multiple factors, including if un-encroached land was handed to L&T by the railways, and why the pace of private land acquisition has been so slow,' the person told ThePrint, requesting anonymity. K-RIDE, or Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka), is a joint venture of the state government and Ministry of Railways, and is tasked with creating and developing 148.17 km of rail route under the Rs 15,767 crore suburban rail project, aimed at decongesting Bengaluru in the long run. The lack of sustainable public transportation has forced Bengaluru's nearly 14 million residents to rely more on private transport, congesting the city further. On last count, Bengaluru had a total of over 1.23 crore vehicles plying its roads, with 7.22 lakh new vehicles added in 2024-25. Coupled with inadequate and crumbling infrastructure, the city has become synonymous with congestion, as well as a template for 'urban ruin'. But the execution challenges aren't the only factor impeding the progress of the rail project. Policy makers in Bengaluru have kept their energies and resources more focused on big-ticket projects, like the metro and the proposed tunnel road, while others like suburban rail, and even bus fleets, remain stagnant. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in the city to inaugurate the Yellow line of the Metro on 10 August. But the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP) that he announced with much pomp in June 2022—with a deadline of just 40 months—has failed to take off. Also Read: High-level policy change causes ripples in Railways, pushback from business houses & within 'Metro given precedence' As soon as the rail project was announced, several legislators and parliamentarians had rushed to claim credit. Things moved swiftly, at least in terms of its marketing. The project was named 'Samparka', a combination of the first letters of the names of its four stretches, each named after a flower—Sampige (41.4 km), Mallige (25.01 km), Parijaata (35.52 km) and Kanaka (46.24 km). However, the focus has since pivoted to the metro project. According to a person directly involved in BSRP, the railways-based transportation project is being overlooked for the metro. 'It's like the younger brother is being born before the older brother,' the person remarked, saying how the metro has taken precedence over a cheaper, more sustainable option. The person also emphasised how other cities, like Mumbai, have focused on the more sustainable option of suburban railways. Rajkumar Dugar, founder of Citizens For Citizens (C4C), told ThePrint, 'The maximum interest being shown by the state government today in any infrastructure project, trying to literally bulldoze its way, is the tunnel road. The second interest is for the metro. Nobody shows interest in suburban rail. The clue is that on paper, the tunnel road costs Rs 1,100 crore per km, the metro about Rs 500 crore on average, and the suburban rail is Rs 100 crore per km.' The BSRP was sanctioned back in October 2020, with a deadline of three years for the completion of the route from Majestic (Bengaluru's main bus & train terminal) to the international airport, and further to Devanahalli. At the time, Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation had written to the Karnataka government, asking that K-RIDE focus on other stretches as the metro line must be prioritised. The Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT), in its response to the state government, had said that BSRP should get priority. 'There is a sanction letter from the Union government and DULT. Both say that BSRP corridor-1 should be prioritised. BMRCL had its way, but not a single brick has been laid on that corridor yet after five years. Things are happening completely against the interests of the city,' Dugar said. Even though all Bengaluru-related projects come under the district in-charge minister, the BSRP has not attracted the attention of its peer projects, like Metro or the tunnel road. The main reason is that the BSRP is being overseen by the infrastructure development ministry of Karnataka, and not under the city in-charge minister, The deputy chief minister has been pushing for vanity projects, like the tunnel road, sky deck, and other big-ticket projects, while BSRP is under M.B. Patil, the industries and infrastructure minister. Blame game The South Western Railways (SWR) told ThePrint that all four corridors of the suburban rail project require 326.81 acres of land. An SWR spokesperson said that on many stretches of land that have been handed over, the encroachments have been identified, and almost all of them cleared. The spokesperson dismissed allegations that the authority handed over land with encroachments to L&T. The authority told ThePrint that for Corridor-2, K-RIDE demanded 85.707 acre-land, which was handed over in December 2022. 'Out of 25.01 km, 22.482 km (almost 90 percent) of the land is completely free of encroachments. In balance 2.58 km length, 344 encroachments are identified, of which 78 are removed, and others are also in the process of removal. BSRP work is in progress in this stretch,' the SWR spokesperson said. In another stretch, K-RIDE demanded 115.472 acres, which was handed over in April 2024. 'In 46.24 km stretch, only 20 encroachments are identified. Eviction proceedings are already in an advanced stage,' the spokesperson added. The land requirement has not yet been finalised for the other two stretches, SWR further said. L&T had entered into two agreements with K-RIDE, which were scheduled to be completed in 27 months, according to the agency responsible for implementing the suburban rail network. These included extensions and other agreements. L&T was contracted to execute about 84 percent of the total corridor length, but K-RIDE said in a statement Saturday that their work was not commensurate so far, which it said 'exposes L&T's failures' in carrying out the work. 'The progress of work as compared to work front availability was not satisfactory due to L&T's failure in mobilisation of adequate resources, and delay in finalisation of designs,' K-RIDE's statement read. It added that multiple letters and reminders had been issued highlighting the company's 'failures' on various fronts, with the direction to remedy them to complete the work at the earliest. The agency also said that the termination of the contract was 'illegal'. ThePrint attempted to reach L&T via email for a comment, but no response was received. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: Trash piles up across Chennai areas as sanitation workers protest privatisation move
India Today
18 hours ago
- India Today
From easier claim rules to Jan-dhan scheme: RBI's 3 key reforms for common man
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday left the key repo rate unchanged at 5.5%, as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) wrapped up its three-day meeting headed by Governor Sanjay Malhotra. The central bank also decided to stick with its neutral stance, suggesting that interest rates may remain steady for its rate decision, the RBI also rolled out several developmental steps aimed at making banking smoother for customers and boosting retail participation in government OF CLAIM SETTLEMENT FOR DECEASED ACCOUNT HOLDERSCurrently, banks follow different procedures when settling claims for deposit accounts or lockers after a customer's death, causing confusion and delays for family members. To improve customer service and reduce hardship, the RBI plans to introduce a uniform process across all banks. This includes standard documentation and streamlined procedures for nominees, legal heirs, or survivors to access funds or retrieve items from lockers. A draft circular will soon be released for public feedback, aiming to make the process simpler and more consistent AUTO-BIDDING FEATURE IN RBI RETAIL DIRECT FOR T-BILLSTo make government securities more accessible and investment planning easier for retail investors, RBI has added an auto-bidding feature for Treasury Bills (T-bills) on its Retail Direct allows individuals to schedule both fresh investments and re-investments in T-bills through automatic bids in primary auctions. It helps investors participate regularly without manually placing bids each time. This update builds on recent innovations, including a mobile app launch in May 2024, aimed at boosting retail participation in the G-Sec AND INCLUSION DRIVES LINKED TO JAN DHAN YOJANAAs the Jan Dhan Scheme marks its 10th anniversary, many account holders are due for re-KYC updates. To manage this, banks are setting up doorstep service camps at Panchayat levels from July 1 to September camps will help with re-KYC processes, opening new accounts, and promoting social security schemes such as micro-insurance and pensions. The initiative is also aimed at spreading financial literacy and resolving customer grievances, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, enhancing financial inclusion.- Ends
