HMDA in row over ORR toll contract

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has allegedly slashed e-toll tender value for the Outer Ring Road though there was no decrease in the volume of vehicles using the expressway.

Sources said the civic authority has reduced the annual toll collection amount from Rs 500 crore to Rs 380 crore. During the bid application in September, officials had asked private agencies to pay Rs 1.36 lakh per day to the urban body for managing the ORR toll collection.

However, it has called for fresh tenders in December with a revised payout of Rs 1.04 lakh per day — which is 23.5 per cent less than the earlier figure — without changing either the contract period or vehicular volume estimates.

Surprisingly, the HMDA authorities have neither reduced the toll amount to be collected from individuals nor has there been any decline in the vehicle volume on ORR — in either cases the toll collection could have plummeted, justifying a lower ask in tender bids. Though a couple of agencies have come forward to take up the project, the authorities did not shortlist them citing unknown reasons.

Officials, however, claim that there are no takers for the toll management system (TMS), which forced the nodal agency to revise the bids to attract private agencies. The sources said the bids were revised to favour an agency under political influence. The HMDA authorities, however, are tight-lipped on this issue, claiming that they were just following the instructions of higher authorities.

Incidentally, Justice K. Laxman of the Telangana High Court in November asked the standing counsels for the HMDA, and Chief General Manager (Tech), Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited (HGCL) to furnish reasons on why data pertaining to the pre-bid queries for the toll booth at Point 16 of ORR wasn’t provided.

A Mumbai-based firm Sahakar Global Limited approached the Telangana High Court stating that only 15 days were provided for the submission of bids from the date of bid notice on October 29. The petitioner alleged that the Chief General Manager (Tech), HGCL, has already decided to assign the tender to Eagle Infra India Limited and Inderdeep Construction.

“It appears that the authorities have already selected a beneficiary i.e. (Eagle
Infra India Limited) for the project and to rule out competitors. So they have come up with unreasonable time frames as the bids are going to open on November 1,” the petitioner stated.

Meanwhile, the installation work for TMS was taken up by system integrator Efkon and the successful bidder has to operate toll collection activity using the HGCL TMS system installed in the project.

The RFID-based FASTag programme is already in operation using the HGCL TMS system and toll for around 85 per cent of trips are being collected through the FASTag.

Currently, VaaaN Infra Pvt. Ltd is maintaining the TMS system with the support of original system integrator Efkon. There are 19 interchanges on the ORR while the main traffic control centre (TCC) is at Nanakramguda inter-change and the sub-TCC is at Ghatkesar Interchange. The ORR has 180 lanes and 17 temporary lanes.

Currently, HGCL is implementing 50 per cent dedicated FASTag lanes and 50 per cent hybrid lanes.

• IN SEPTEMBER, the HMDA officials have asked the private agencies to pay Rs 1.36 lakh per day to the urban body for managing the ORR toll collection.
• IN DECEMBER, it has called for fresh tenders with a revised payout of Rs 1.04 lakh per day — which is 23.5 per cent less than the earlier figure — without changing either the contract period or vehicular volume estimates.