Review Panel Examines Reasons
Nagpur: A review committee is considering relief for contractors of Smart City projects who have challenged the steep Rs40,000 a day penalty for delays. The contractors contend that the tender conditions cap the daily penalty at Rs20,000. The newly constituted Penalty Review Committee of Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Ltd (NSSCDCL) held its first meeting on Oct 23 to examine penalty-condonation requests relating to road works, bridges, elevated service reservoirs (ESRs) and feeder pipelines. Under Package I, the civic administration approved a revised alignment for a 290-metre stretch of multi-utility corridor (MC)-02 to resolve land-related hurdles involving two project-affected persons. The contractor has been directed to complete the remaining road work and a 1,400-metre water distribution pipeline by Dec 2026, without penalty, subject to timely handover of the required land. The deadline has been extended to Dec 31, 2026. Package II, involving road work on MC-04, was completed on the available work front on May 30, 2026. The contractor’s request for waiver of the Rs40,000 daily penalty has been referred to the committee. The bridge works were substantially completed by May 30, while Package VI works were completed on Dec 31, 2025. The dispute centres on Clause 60 of the tender conditions, which prescribes penalties of Rs5,000 per day for the first 28 days, Rs10,000 per day for days 29 to 56, and Rs20,000 per day from the 57th day onwards. Clause 2 also caps delay compensation at 10% of the estimated cost of the work. The committee is examining the cases under Clause 222 of the PWD MPW Manual, which provides for penalty review and condonation when delays arise from circumstances beyond a contractor’s control.
You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Nagpur | Silver Rate in Nagpur | Bank Holidays in Nagpur | Public Holidays in Nagpur | Petrol Price in Nagpur | Diesel Price in Nagpur | CNG Price in Nagpur | LPG Price in Nagpur Stay updated with the latest Nagpur news. The committee is understood to be inclined towards waiving the penalties. As per an official privy to the development, contractors have cited rehabilitation and resettlement issues, delayed land handovers, opposition from project-affected persons, shifting of utilities and restricted availability of work fronts as reasons for delays. Adverse monsoon conditions and additional work have also been cited as contributing factors. The review covers Packages I, II, V and VI, besides major bridge works. The committee is headed by the NSSCDCL chief executive officer and includes the chief engineer and technical adviser of NMC/NSSCDCL, the chief finance officer of NSSCDCL and the general manager (Mobility) as member secretary. The administration has also ordered the release of pending running account bills after withholding disputed penalty amounts until the committee submits its final recommendations. Penalty-waiver requests for bridge works under Package V and ESR and feeder pipeline works under Package VI have also been referred for review. Download the TOI App.