New Delhi, June 17: The Punjab government in 1994 started Rs one crore project for beautification of golden temple at Amritsar to be completed within six months, but after nearly 10 years multiple litigations, which has reached the Supreme Court, continue on payment disputes. Hearing a petition filed by the project director, a vacation bench comprising Justice R C Lahoti and Justice Brijesh Kumar yesterday asked counsel Mahabir Singh to file certain documents related to the project before the matter was taken up for hearing.
The project was allotted to contractor Yoginder Sarin in February 1994 by a high-powered committee with an agreement that the work would be completed within six months. However, numerous extensions were granted as Sarin could not complete the work in time.
However, finding the work not complete even till December 1995, the competent authority, engineer-incharge of the project, imposed a penalty of Rs 10,00,000 on the contractor.
The contractor started arbitration proceedings before the superintendent engineer of the project challenging the imposition of penalty amounting to Rs 10 lakhs.
However, he gave an undertaking on October 30, 1996, that he would complete the work by November 15, 1996.
Bureau Report