The High Court on Monday directed the government to place on record the documents based on which the tender process for the Rs 1,800-crore ‘command control room’ project for ambulances was cancelled.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka went through the official file on cancellation of the process. The court said the file for the cancellation of the process was signed by the Minister for Health and Family Welfare considering two aspects - discussions on public forum and opinion of experts. The bench asked the state to furnish documents for discussions on public forum and expert opinion.
“We direct the state to file an affidavit placing on record in which public forum the issue of tender was discussed. The state will also have to place on record copies of the opinion of experts referred to in para 5 (of the order cancelling the tender process),” the court said.
During the hearing, the court observed that the government had given assurance in the previous hearings that the tender process would be completed.
The court orally said the cancellation of the tender is non-application of mind and looks like, it is with the only intention to drag the project further. The court said that there is not a single opinion of any expert mentioned in the entire file pertaining to cancellation of the tender process.
During the previous hearing, the government had informed the court that since there is an increase in the number of ambulances, the tender process was cancelled and two committees had been set up to look into the issue. The court had directed the government to place on record the file.
The government had given an assurance to the court that the tender process, which had commenced last year, would be completed within five months. The PIL, filed by Bharat Punaruttana Trust, sought directions to set up an ambulance control room to coordinate the movement of ambulances.