HC rejects water company's plea

Aurangabad: The municipal corporation received a shot in the arm on Monday after the Aurangabad bench of the high court (

HC

) rejected the district court's order asking the civic body not to disturb the possession of Aurangabad Water Utility Company as well as forfeit its bank guarantee.

On October 18, the district court had stated that the civic body has not followed procedures while issuing termination notice to the company.

The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation

(

AMC

) was asked not to disturb the bank guarantee that the water utility company had extended in lieu of the agreement.

The AMC has already scrapped the Rs 792-crore agreement it had reached with the Aurangabad Water Utility Company. Thereafter, the firm approached the district court against the AMC's move to terminate the contract.

The civic body approached the HC on October 19 challenging the district court's order. The HC had then granted interim stay on district court's order.

The matter came up for hearing before

Justice TV Nalawade

on Monday who quashed and set aside the district court's order following arguments, while allowing the appeal of the civic body. "The court also rejected the water utility company's plea seeking stay on its order so that it could approach the Supreme Court," said lawyer Anil Bajaj, who represented the civic body.

"We have also communicated to the HC the name of the arbitration member, as the water utility company has already named its member. The third member for arbitration is expected to be decided amicably," Bajaj said.

During the course of hearing on these petitions, the civic body snapped its agreement with the water utility company on June 30. It served a final termination notice on September 30 officially terminating the contract that was signed in 2011 to supply water to the city on a public private partnership model.

While hearing these PILs, the HC had issued many directions to the civic body. At one point, the court even observed that "the issues raised in the petitions cover larger canvas of legality and validity of action of allotment of tender in favour of the water utility company, as well as legality, validity and correctness of the concession agreement entered into between the municipal corporation and the concessioner on September 22, 2011".

The PILs filed by experts and activists, including Rajendra Datey-Patil, Vijay Diwan, Rajendra Lokhande and Vijay Shirsath, had sought directions to the civic body and the government to scrap the Rs 792-crore water scheme.

The government as well as the civic administration too had given their reports against the water utility company, dubbing the contract as unviable and un-favourable for the civic body and against the larger public interest.