High Court Halts Polavaram Hydel Project Works

Navayuga Engineering Company Limited had approached High Court Division Bench over the verdict of the Single Judge vacating the stay on the construction of the Polavaram Hydel Project. Earlier, the single judge vacated the stay on the works and Megha Engineering Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) recently performed Bhoomi Pooja at the Project site.

The Government Counsel argued that the works should not be stopped as it will delay the project. But the Division Bench headed by High Court Chief Judge Maheshwari felt that 10-15 days delay will not harm the project. The high court asked to stop the project works until further orders.

The next hearing of the case is posted to Tuesday. The court served notices to APGENCO. Navayuga Engineering Company has approached the high court against the Pre-Closure of its Contract by APGENCO on the insistence of the State Government. In the court, Navayuga argued that the Project site is not yet totally handed over to it and there should be no question of penalizing it.

Further, Navayuga told the High Court that APGENCO canceled the tenders on the insistence of the State Government. But then, the State Government is just a third party in the agreement and can not force Political Decisions on APGENCO.