RAMKY ENVIRO ENGINEERS LIMITED RAJ BHAVAN ROAD HYDERABAD Vs. HYDERABAD METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY TANK BUND HYDERABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is filed seeking Mandamus declaring the action of the respondent - Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, in issuing letter No. 1693/H/Dev/HCIP/09-10, dated 05-12-2011, declaring the petitioner as disqualified in pre-qualification process of the bids invited in relation to dredging of Hussain Sagar Lake under the 3 Nalas, under Hussain Sagar Lake Catchment Area Improvement Project, as illegal and arbitrary. The case of the petitioner, as stated in the writ affidavit, is that the petitioner is incorporated as a Company under the Companies Act, 1956, and is engaged in the business of providing environmental solutions in all emerging fields of technology including serving customers in countrywide. It operates 14 Hazardous Waste Management facilities handling about a million tons of waste annually, 15 Bio-medical Waste Disposal facilities catering to over 15,000 health care establishments and 2,00,000 hospital beds and over 28 Municipal Solid Waste Management facilities and also in the fields of Dredging and marine outlay pipeline activities. The respondent authority intended to provide for dredging sediment at the mouth of 3 nalas in Hussain Sagar Lake and for disposal of sediment from the lake. Accordingly, issued a pre-qualification notice dated 10-06-2011, together with attendant conditions, inviting applications for short listing suitable entities, to whom, the bid documents for dredging would be provided. As specified in the eligibility criteria, the prospective bidders must have experience of having dredged a minimum of one work of 0.3 million cubic meters (mcm) and also shall possess financial and technical capabilities on various fronts, as indicated in the pre-qualification document dated 10.6.2011. Being fully eligible, the petitioner submitted its qualifications with requisite particulars. The respondent authorities addressed a letter to the petitioner to furnish documentary evidence of possession/ownership certificates. The grievance of the petitioner is that the respondent by the impugned letter dated 05-12-2011, without assigning any reasons, disqualified. However, on enquiry, it was revealed that the petitioner was disqualified on the ground that it was held to be not possessing adequate experience of dredging the required quantity of material and that the personnel employed by them are found to be ineligible. Aggrieved by the same, the present writ petition is filed.

(2.) The respondent filed its counter affidavit stating that Hussain Sagar Lake is situated in the heart of the Hyderabad with a water spread of 4.7 sq kms. and catchment of 240 sq. kms. Over the years, the lake has been receiving the uninterrupted sewage mixed with industrial effluents through the four nalas and nutrient rich sediments carried with the flows, were deposited on the lake bed resulting severe pollution deteriorating the water quality of the lake. The dredging of the sediments deposited at the mouth of the four nalas is one of the component and the studies were conducted for assessing the quality and quantification. Based on the study and the proposals furnished by the Project Management Consultants, the tender process has been initiated in accordance with the guidelines for procurement under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) ODA loans and the bids are invited in two stages. Under first stage, the proposals for the pre qualification are invited from the bidders for short listing for issuing bid documents. Under second stage, the bid documents are issued to the bidders for submission in two covers i.e. cover-I-technical bid and Cover-II-financial bid. Eight agencies have purchased the Pre Qualification document, and bids from 3 companies were received before stipulated time and date and the tenders were opened in the presence of bidders. The petitioner is one among the three bidders. It is further stated that the Government of Andhra Pradesh vide G.O.Ms. No. 153 MA& UD, dated 31-03-2006, constituted the Tender Evaluation and Technical Advisory Committee, for taking the final decision on tender evaluation for all the contracts of Hussainsagar Lake and Catchment Improvement Project, subject to confirmation of Vice Chairman, HUDA presently Metropolitan Commissioner, HMDA. The Committee, after going through the documents furnished by the bidders, has taken a decision for short listing the two bidders who are satisfying the eligibility criteria stipulated in the Pre Qualification document, and disqualified the petitioner as it does not satisfy the pre qualification criteria. Accordingly, the bidders were informed about the result of the bid process and the bid documents were issued to the qualified bidders with last date of submission i.e. on or before 20-01-2012 @ 4 p.m. It is further stated that the experience shown by the petitioner is only a part of the project and that the dredging is not the main component of the said project. The petitioner has not enclosed any other experience certificates of similar nature other than the above work, which clearly shows that the petitioner does not have dredging as their core area of work. The petitioner also neither own any equipment nor any instruments required for execution of the project. The petitioner has proposed the personnel required for the project such as Project Manager, Dredging Engineer, Hydrographic Surveyor with alternates. Further, the Committee concluded that the petitioner does not have qualified personnel as per the requirement of Pre Qualification Document. It is further stated that the other personnel both prime and alternate for dredging engineer and hydrographic surveyor, do not satisfy the academic qualifications and also the required number of years of experience stipulated in the eligibility criteria. Through the CV's enclosed by the petitioner, it was found that the personnel for Project Manager alternate, Dredging Engineer both prime and alternate and Hydrographic surveyor both prime and alternate do not possess the required number of years of experience in the similar field as stipulated in the Pre Qualification Document. Ultimately, the Committee after considering all the aspects, concluded that the petitioner does not have dredging experience as its core area of work and also it does not have qualified personnel as per the Pre Qualification document and accordingly disqualified the petitioner. Hence, prays to dismiss the writ petition.

(3.) Reply affidavit is filed by the petitioner, denying the averments made in the counter affidavit and reiterating the averments made in the writ affidavit.