Rs 33L recovery from contractor set aside

Hyderabad: The AP High Court has declared that the action of the engineer in chief of public health department to recover Rs 33.51 lakh from a contractor after lapse of four years was unsustainable.

Justice A. Ramalingeswara Rao was allowing a petition by M/s Bhooratnam Constructions Company Pvt. Ltd, challenging a letter issued by the engineer in chief of public health department for recovery of excess amount in 2004.

The company was awarded the execution of Tirupati Water Supply Improvements Scheme with K.P. Canal as resource-providing 1,100 MM PSC Pumping Main from MD Puthur to Mangalam in the year 1997 and the work was completed and the final bill was paid on October 28, 2000.

The authorities initiated recovery proceedings after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in his report for the year 2003 stated that excess payment of Rs 33.51 lakh was made to the contractor.

The court found fault with the authorities for taking four years to recover the excess payment by observing that “obviously, the respondents could not have filed a suit for recovery of amount after four years even if it is assumed that there was an excess payment.”

The judge ruled that in the absence of any agreement between the parties subsisting at the time of impugned letter, the respondents have no jurisdiction over the petitioner to demand payment of the amount except in accordance with law.

The judge set aside the letter of the engineer in chief.

Posting of Nims chief questioned.

A retired medical officer of Karimnagar district, Dr R.J. Bhaskar, has moved the AP High Court challenging the decision of the state government to appoint Dr Narendranath as director of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (Nims) in August 2013.

Dr Bhaskar told the court that the appointment was in contravention of the rules pertaining to minimum qualifications for teachers in medical institutions, as prescribed by the Medical Council of India. He said that occupying the post of director of Nims without the required qualification was illegal.

According to Dr Bhaskar, Dr Narendranath has not worked as professor of orthopedics or as head of the department for a minimum period of five years, as required under the MCI regulations.