Tata firm removed from smart grid project in Gurugram

Gurugram: The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVN) has removed Tata Projects from the ambitious smart grid project in Gurugram, for failing to complete its work even after more than four years have passed since the scheduled time for completion, discom officials said.

A fresh tender for selecting a new firm was floated last month, they added.

They said that Tata Projects had emerged as the lowest bidder in two of the four tenders floated in 2017 and 2018 and was awarded the work which was meant to be completed within two years from the time of project allotment.

However, till date, Tata Projects could not complete the work allocated under both tenders. In one of the tenders of 2017, the firm was awarded a part of the project, worth ₹230 crore, to lay 146 underground feeders and supporting infrastructure by 2019.

In the second tender, DHBVN gave Tata Projects the responsibility to lay additional 166 underground feeders and supporting infrastructure in 2018. This second tender was worth ₹380 crore and work was to be completed by 2020.

A senior DHBVN official, however, said that the firm is yet to lay 10 out of 146 feeders while in the second project, 50 out of the 166 feeders were yet to be laid.

“Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Vindhya Tele Link (VTL) were the two other firms selected along with Tata Projects via the two other tenders of the smart grid project. Both the firms completed their work of laying 119 and 148 feeders respectively with a miniscule delay even after the Covid-19 pandemic but Tata’s work is still pending,” he said.

DHBVN officials said that the Haryana government, which had given 100-days’ time to the firm last year for completing the pending work, now wants the project completed at the earliest.

Following the government’s direction, a review meeting chaired by DHBVN managing director A Sreeniwas was held in which he took stock of the developments. An email was sent to Tata Projects seeking its response on the issue but the firm did not respond.

DHBVN chief engineer (smart city project), VK Aggarwal, said the discom has terminated the second tender of Tata Projects under which 50 feeders are yet to be laid in the city. “A fresh tender has been floated recently through which a new firm will be selected to finish the pending work,” he said.

Aggarwal said that the other tender was also initially terminated last year but after negotiations between senior officials of the state government and Tata Projects, the termination was withdrawn and the petition filed by the firm challenging the termination before the Punjab and Haryana high court was also withdrawn.

DHBVN officials said that a separate process has also been initiated this month so that the firm doesn’t get selected in any of their future projects. However, finalizing it will take some time as correspondence of a series of notices and replies will take place between both the parties on it, they said.

The project, worth ₹1,136 crore, was launched in 2016 and was aimed at modernising Gurugram’s power infrastructure by ensuring uninterrupted power supply even in bad weather.