HMDA told to finalise tenders for ORR toll fee

The High Court at Hyderabad has permitted the HMDA to finalise tenders for collecting toll fee from users of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) around Hyderabad. It stayed the order of the single judge, who had directed the HMDA to not finalise the tenders till disposal of the petition.

The Division Bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice J Uma Devi passed orders to this effect on Thursday, while hearing the writ appeal filed by General Manager of Hyderabad Growth Corridor Ltd of HMDA challenging the order of the single judge.

One Maharashtra company filed a writ petition challenging the decision of the HMDA calling for e-tenders for collecting ORR user fee and deciding that the bids must start from a minimum of Rs 21.25 crore per month to the HMDA. It sought removal of the minimum amount clause from the tenders. The single judge directed the HMDA to continue the tender process, but not to finalise the bids pending disposal of the petition.

The Division Bench made strong remarks about the Maharashtra firm filing the writ petition challenging the tender. If a minimum amount was prescribed for the tender, it is beneficial to the public exchequer. It is understandable if someone approaches the court saying higher bid price was not prescribed. But in the present case, it was seeking the opposite. It observed that this is a misuse of the process of justice and lifted the stay granted on finalisation of tenders.