Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) not to open the financial bids for the ambitious Thane-Ghodbunder to Bhayandar tunnel and elevated road project until Thursday.
The directive came in response to a plea filed by construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which alleged that it had not received any intimation about the status of its bid while other contenders had.
The project, estimated to cost Rs 6,000 crore, includes a 9.8 km elevated road over Vasai Creek and is billed as the second longest such structure after the Atal Setu. It is proposed as an extension of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project.
L&T, represented by senior counsels Abhishek Singhvi and Janak Dwarkadas, submitted both technical and financial bids on December 30, 2024. The technical bids were opened by MMRDA on January 1, 2025, but L&T claimed it received no communication regarding the outcome.
“If financial bids are opened to the exclusion of L&T, it will be contrary to the principles of fairness and transparency,” Dwarkadas argued. He added, “We were never told our bids were non-responsive. Reasons best known to them, they have not disclosed anything.”
MMRDA countered that the terms of the tender allow such a process. “After technical eligibility is assessed, only eligible bidders are informed. The rest are not,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the MMRDA, told the court. He emphasised that public infrastructure projects cannot be indefinitely stalled. “No injunctions can be granted in such projects—it impedes public interest.”s
Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for MMRDA, maintained that L&T’s challenge was unsustainable. “They are estopped from contesting the process, having participated under the same conditions,” he said, alleging suppression of facts by the petitioner.
A vacation bench of Justices Kamal Khata and Arif Doctor, however, questioned the lack of written communication. “Can you give it to them in writing? That might end this matter,” the bench remarked, pressing for transparency.
The court observed that it was not halting the project but merely requesting a day’s pause. “We are only asking you not to open the bids till tomorrow. We will take it up then,” the bench said adjourning the matter to Thursday.
