PIL against package system in awarding contracts dismissed

The Madras High Court today dismissed a PIL challenging the package system in awarding contracts and tenders invited by 17 Superintendent Engineers of various districts in Tamil Nadu and asked authorities to treat it as a representation and take an appropriate decision in two months.
"In view of the infirmities urged in respect of the package system, we call upon the authorities concerned to treat this petition as a representation and to take an appropriate decision in this behalf within two months from today," the first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sathyanarayanan, said.
They stated this while dismissing a PIL by contractor K T Ramamurthy who alleged that various tenders called by authorities to lay roads in highways under the 'Package System' was only to favour select contractors who had got strong recommendations and have a monopoly or domination.

The bench noted that the petitioner was undoubtedly a directly interested party. He was not impunging any particular tender and had made no representation against the package system, other than that it had been earlier scrapped on own recommendations of the department.
"The matter in issue is in a policy domain. We are thus of the view that no PIL is maintainable on this issue," the bench said and dismissed the petition.
Ramamurthy had alleged that the tender schedules are not uploaded on time in the official website of the Highways department, which has to be done on the same day, enabling the contractors get access to get the schedule downloaded.

He also further alleged that except selective tenderers in the districts, other contractors though fully eligible were not permitted to take part in the tenders by not uploading the tender in time and not issuing working condition certificates.

Considering the infirmities, the government had earlier withdrawn the system and again introduced it for reasons best known to it, Ramamurthy said.
He further submitted that when the package system was withdrawn, the eligibility to participate in the tender to get contract was liberalized to enable numerous contractors get work from the government.
Hence he sought a direction from the court to declare the package system of tenders as illegal, improper, null and void and also to direct all Superintendent Engineers to call for fresh tenders.