NHAI to have Faster Resolution of Disputes

New Delhi: Chairman NHAI Raghav Chandra has emphasized that disputes in highway projects should be resolved expeditiously and ideally always on the ground, the moment they arise and before they become unbearable. The fewer the disputes, the faster they are resolved, the better the governance. This is a win-win situation for all stakeholders.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Legal Conference on Contractual Matters in Management of National Highways at New Delhi today, Chairman NHAI said that the Model Concession Agreement creates a framework on trust for resolution of disputes and also to ensure that justice is delivered on both sides i.e. public authority and the private party. Despite this, disputes arise in both BOT and EPC projects .

We need to introspect as to why the disputes have arisen and what should we do to redress them. The Amendment to Arbitration Act, 2015 lays the framework for faster resolution of disputes and it is extremely essential that we should graduate to adopting resolution of pending disputes under this new Arbitration Act.

NHAI has organized a two days Legal Conference-cum-workshop on Contractual Matters in Management of National Highways on September 9 and 10, 2016 with the objective to sensitize its officials to deal with disputes. All Regional Officers, Project Directors from the field units, officials from NHAI HQ, legal experts and techno-legal experts have been invited to attend the Conference.

The objective of the conference is to deliberate on the issues that need attention of both parties i.e. NHAI and contractors/concessionaires while implementing the contractual provisions, to understand the Indian and global perspective of PPP models, to sensitize on newer provisions of Arbitration Act 2015 such that the dispute resolution process is made quicker and more transparent.

The conference has sessions on contract management in highway construction, over view of public private partnership in India and the world, corridor management and related road safety issues. The conference is significant in view of the large no. of arbitration cases in the construction sector. In the highways sector, 123 cases for a claim amount of more than Rs 25,000 crore are pending before Arbitral Tribunals.-WTN