BHEL’s decision to award Rs 400 crore tender to BTL upheld by SC

20 Sep 2023 , 10:50 AM

The Supreme Court upheld Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd’s decision to award a Rs 400-crore tender to Kolkata-based BTL EPC Ltd, which had a consortium arrangement with Chinese business Fujian Longking Co.

A panel chaired by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud overruled an August Karnataka High Court judgement that had rejected the BHEL tender awarded to BTL in September 2022, noting that significant work on the project had already been completed and that the HC order would make contract implementation difficult.

The HC had cancelled the tender, saying that national security takes precedence above the public interest. It had asked BHEL to examine another Noida-based bidder, Macawber Beekay, for an ash handling plant as part of the Telangana State Power Generation Company’s 4000 MW thermal power station installation at Yadadri in Nalagunda district.

Macawber said that BTL EPC failed to meet the contract’s technical requirements because it partnered with the Chinese firm Fujian Longking, which violated the Union government’s limitation on bids from nations sharing land borders with India.

BTL, BHEL, and Telangana State Power Generation Company had petitioned the Supreme Court, claiming that the HC could not have interfered with the tender award at this stage because it was against public interest and any annulment would cause a significant delay.

They claimed that BTL EPC had already completed significant work on the project and that the first 800 MW unit would be ready for commissioning in December.

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