Latest news with #BarapullahPhase3
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Delhi govt's PWD removes arbitration clause from contract conditions to cut losses
New Delhi, The Delhi government's Public Works Department has deleted the arbitration clause from its general conditions of contract to reduce the increasing financial losses. According to the new conditions, in case of any dispute between the PWD and a private contractor, the matter will be dealt with only in the courts. "The arbitration clause has been removed from our new tenders. Originally the motive behind arbitration clauses was to fast-track any disputes instead of litigation, but in most of the cases that went for arbitration, the government was incurring heavy financial losses," PWD minister Parvesh Verma said. In the Barapullah Phase 3 project, the government lost around ₹300 crore because the PWD did not make an appeal against the arbitration order and the private company benefited, he added. Last year, LG V K Saxena had said that compared to the tender amount of ₹964 crore, the government would end up paying ₹1,326.3 crore for the Barapullah Phase 3 project. The PWD has been dealing with several legal matters in the past few years, mostly deriving from delays in projects as the construction cost shoots up beyond the initial estimated cost, putting a liability on the government. In 2023, former PWD minister Atishi also took notice of the increasing financial burden on the public exchequer due to the large number of arbitration cases in the department. She had directed officials to make changes in the working of the department to ensure such situations did not arise again. Currently, the PWD has a panel of around half a dozen arbitrators empanelled to fight their legal cases. According to the rules, the empanelled arbitrator shall not have more than five cases of the PWD in hand at a time. In India, arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution method where parties agree to settle their disputes outside of court by a neutral third party, called an arbitrator, who makes a binding decision. This process is governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
Indian Express
12-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Delhi's Barapullah Phase 3 project gets new deadline — December end
The Delhi government plans to complete the delayed Barapullah Phase 3 flyover project by December, Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said on Monday. Singh, who was on a second visit to the project site, said, 'Our target is to operationalise this flyover by December. It is an important infrastructure project that has suffered from neglect and inaction for several years. Since taking charge, we have prioritised this project and ensured progress on multiple fronts.' The Barapullah Phase 3 project — a 3.5-km elevated corridor — envisages seamless connectivity between Mayur Vihar I in East Delhi and AIIMS in South Delhi. The new flyover, which will merge with the existing Barapullah flyover at Sarai Kale Khan, is also expected to significantly enhance east-west connectivity. Once operational, the flyover is likely to ease traffic congestion at key choke points, such as Nizamuddin Bridge, Bhairon Marg, Ashram Chowk, and Ring Road. The Phase 3 project was approved in 2014 and launched in April 2015 with a target to complete work in 2017. The initial cost of the flyover was Rs 964 crore, but the sanctioned cost significantly increased over the years. The project was delayed due to a range of issues — delays in land acquisition, the Covid-19 pandemic, seasonal floods, and pending forest department approval for the relocation of over 250 trees. In a statement, the Delhi government said that although 89% of the project is complete, the work on the remaining part of the flyover is delayed as approvals from the forest department to relocate around 200 trees are pending. 'We are hopeful that the required approvals from the forest department will be received soon, allowing the final phase of construction to commence,' Singh said. Singh, however, blamed the delay on the alleged negligence of the previous AAP government, lack of inter-departmental coordination, and administrative inefficiency. 'The earlier government neither released payments to contractors on time nor did they initiate the process of tree relocation. As a result, this critical project was delayed for years, with costs escalating. We are actively working to complete the remaining work soon… The current government is actively coordinating with the forest department to obtain the necessary clearances for tree relocation,' he said. PWD officials said that with renewed oversight, while many technical issues have been resolved, inter-departmental coordination has also improved. 'Regular inspections are now being conducted to ensure work is on track,' said an official. 'For us, this is not just a project, but a significant step in the development of Delhi. Our priority is to ensure no project suffers due to red tape or neglect, and all pending infrastructure projects are completed on time,' said Singh.
