The Supreme Court has pulled up multinationals Alstom Hydro and Voith Hydro which had bided for second phase of Tehri hydropower project, saying their litigation was delaying the crucial project and causing loss to the nation.

The court’s observation came while delivering its judgment in the case between Voith Hydro a joint venture between two German giants Voith and Siemens and Alstom Hydro a part of French engineering major Alstom, over bids submitted to Tehri Hydro Development Corporation.

A bench comprising justices V S Sirpurkar and Mukundakam Sharma said such litigations delay important projects of the country and cause loss to nation.

The court said “We are pained to note that a very important project like the present one is being stuck in a legal battle between the two multinational companies. Till today, even the contract has not been finalized. All this would invariably cause loss to the nation. Contractual rights of these companies are not more important than the national interest.”

The court has directed a panel of experts formed by THDC to consider the objection raised by the companies and make a recommendation by end of April 2010 over the bids submitted by them. “Panel of experts should be allowed to consider the objections and express its opinion. That opinion shall then be considered by the appellant which would take the final decision on that basis,” the court said.

The bench said: “It should be completed by the end of April 2010. Then, without loss of time, a decision will be taken, considering the report of the panel of experts regarding the award of contract.”

The court’s direction came on a petition filed by THDC, Alstom and Voith. THDC had invited bids for Tehri Pump Storage Plant, phase-II in 2007 in which three bidders, Alstom, Voith and Japan-based Sumitomo Corporation, were declared qualified. Later, a dispute arose and Alstom approached the Uttarakhand High Court contending that Voith was not technically qualified and it had submitted two price bids which was in contravention of the terms and conditions. However, the high court had held that Voith was qualified.

(Sourced from Economic Times)