NT Reporter
Panaji
In the Kala Academy matter, the High Court of Bombay at Goa said it is presently more concerned with the completion of the renovation work allotted to M/s Techton Buildcon Pvt Ltd through a May 3, 2021, work order.
The court observed that if the work, as alleged by petitioner Durgadas Kamat, is shabby or defective, the state government must ensure vigilance. It said that if defects are found within the defect liability clause of the agreement, “the structure must be accordingly repaired/renovated as per the scope of the work order.”
The PIL filed by Kamat, a politician and executive member and general secretary of the Goa Forward Party, alleged that the work was arbitrarily awarded to Techton Buildcon by simply seeking its willingness to execute the project, instead of following the normal procedure of floating a tender and calling for wider participation based on technical qualifications and capabilities. The work was allotted for nearly Rs 39.64 crore.
The High Court directed that the compliance must be forwarded to the executive engineer concerned so the court can also have the state’s stand on the defects pointed out and the manner in which the task will be accomplished strictly as per the work order. Rejecting a plea by the agency’s counsel, the court added that it was not ready to accede to the request that the PIL should come to an end at this stage.
The petitioner’s lawyer referred to the structure that collapsed but the contractor’s counsel said that it was not covered in the scope of work tendered and awarded. “We find that the executive engineer would be the best officer to ascertain as to what was the work that was accomplished by the Respondent 5 (contractor) and was found to be defective of which a rectification is sought,” the court said.
