The Odisha government has made a decision to pay Rs. 100 crore to Larsen & Turbo for major furniture and computer-related work in the public works department in the capital city of Bhubaneshwar. This order was passed by the commercial judge in the capital city of Odisha, Bhubaneshwar.
Why Odisha government is Rs. 100 crores spent?
Rs 100 crore came as a position in the Odisha government where the money (in Rs 100 crore)was collected from the public. It has been more than 20 years since the government had asked for a down payment of Rs. 20 crores from L&T in order to construct a 166 km long road.
After so many years, the Odisha government has finally decided to work on the project seriously by making a payment of Rs. 100 crores to L&T. The company has exhausted all the legal remedies they had with them.
According to a government official, the State government has decided for payment for the pay several dues amounting to Rs.100.06 cores to Larsen &Taoubro Ltd. For compliance with the arbitral awards dated in January 2022 by the Arbitration Tribunal in case of strengthening and widening of the Sambalpur- Rourkela road out with the Asian Development Bank (ABD) assistance.
The decision for paying Rs. 100 crores were made in 3 months. after L&T gets several pieces of furniture and computers for public work. Due to this, all items for public work were seized by the civil judge (commercial) in the capital city of Bhubaneshwar. After a few hearings, the civil court (commercial) passed a judgment that ordered the seizure of the property of the government which caused a huge embarrassment to the state in July 2022. A rely is expected for the same in the State Assembly as soon as possible.
According to the state government, the agency has been toped for different projects for the past 19 years. The government did not clear any of the dues of the company. This eventually led to the piling of the amount from Rs. 20 crores, 20 years back to Rs. 100 crores in 2022 (this includes interest). The cabinet has agreed to make a proposal and make the amount as discussed in the political circles.
The incident explained
The company L&T was given a contract to construct a 166km long road between Sambhalour and Rourkela, in the late 90s. The public work demanded Rs. 20 crores at that time after completing the work as a tribunal. However, the government failed to make the payment on time.
Thereafter in 2004, the company asks the government to make the payment but the state government moved the case to the high court and eventually the government lost the case. After that, the case was filed in the supreme court. Again, L&T wins the case and the Odisha government was charged a fine of rs. 120 crore worth of interest.
According to the Congress state president, “The government is paying the penalty after collecting tax from the common people”. He also said that the government should collect a fine amount from the office which is responsible for the goof-up
