No action against expressway operator till march 27: HC

The operator of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway — which was slapped with a contract termination notice — got a breather with the Delhi High Court on Thursday restraining National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) from taking any action against it till March 27.

The operator of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway — which was slapped with a contract termination notice — got a breather with the Delhi High Court on Thursday restraining National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) from taking any action against it till March 27.

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Meanwhile, the chief financier of the project, Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), moved the court seeking a hearing on the issue. IDFC said it was wrong to keep them in the dark while the contract termination notice was issued.

The lenders led by IDFC have provided credit facility of R1,597 crore to the developer of the
28-km road project.

The court had on February 6 directed NHAI to issue termination order to the operator, Delhi-Gurgaon Super Connectivity (DCS). This was after the Road Transport and Highways ministry decided to terminate the contract of the operator with the NHAI for violating terms.

The violation included failure to decongest the 28-km expressway that connects the millennium city with the Capital and for taking unilateral financial decision that can cause significant losses to the government.

Justice S Muralidhar issued notice to NHAI and DCS on the suit moved by IDFC, which contended that the termination of the contract will cause a huge loss to it. Replies have been sought by March 27.

Seeking a stay on the termination order, IDFC said the authority has violated the tripartite agreement it had signed with the DGSCL and the government.