HC hits out at contractor over delay in building of homes for slum dwellers

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has rejected a construction firm’s appeal against a 2022 order of the Karnataka Slum Development Board that rejected its request for an extension of time for their work order and then terminated the contract.

A bench consisting of Justice Nagaprasanna passed the order on January 23. In this case, a 654-day extension was granted for the work in 2018, and another year’s extension was granted in 2020.

The KSDB subsequently cancelled the contract. The firm’s counsel argued that though there was a shortfall in completing the work, KSDB had not allotted construction sites well in time, thus impeding their efforts.

The counsel argued that if others executed the work in the present day, it would be at double the cost asked by the firm, thus impacting the public exchequer.

The state counsel argued that the firm had been unable to do the work despite multiple extensions and further that many houses intended for slum dwellers were in a partially built condition.

Because of this, slum dwellers also had come forward to contribute to the construction.

The bench observed that the firm had not challenged tenders which had been issued meanwhile to finish their work. The bench added, ” …a picture is worth a thousand words.

The undisputed photographs produced of the houses show that they are grossly underconstructed, half-constructed or 3/4th constructed.

Dismissing the petition, the bench said, “The petitioner is an unwilling horse, though taken to a lake bed, is not ready to drink water. I use this metaphor to drive home that the petitioner despite being granted time, time and again, has not completed the work…. Finding no merit in the petition, the petition stands rejected."