Shimla- The High Court of Himachal Pradesh has come down hard on a contractor who has failed to start or complete most of the awarded staggering 66 works mainly in Mandi district. The court has directed the government to take action against officers assigning works to him.
A Division Bench comprising Shri Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Shri Justice Stayen Vaidya passed the order on petition filed by the Contractor Sanjeev Kumar Bhandari, who faced the ire of the court.
The case was brought to the Court by Sanjeev Kumar Bhandari, a government contractor, who claimed that he was awarded a construction project for the Dosa-Ra-Tharu-Putlifald, Lower Brahmfald Jhared Galu, Chanouta road.
However, the Executive Engineer of HP PWD, Dharampur Division, District Mandi, re-invited tenders for the same work. Bhandari requested the Court to cancel the re-tendering order and instruct the respondents to award him the contract.
During the hearing, it was revealed that Bhandari had been granted a staggering 66 contracts. Shockingly, most of these projects had either not been initiated or remained incomplete.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the Court has demanded an affidavit from Bhandari detailing a clear timeline for completing the unfinished works. Furthermore, the Court has instructed all government departments, boards, and corporations not to release any funds to the contractor without the Court's explicit permission.
In the meantime, the Principal Secretary of HPPWD has been directed to take action against the officials responsible for negligence. Despite Bhandari's repeated failures to fulfill his obligations, no action was taken against him. Instead, he continued to be awarded new contracts.
A fresh status report on the matter has been ordered to be submitted on July 13, 2023. The contractor now faces severe consequences as the High Court aims to hold him accountable for his actions.