“The decision seems to have been taken as per the laws related to electricity and water resources,” Justices Bala Ram KC and Krishna Prasad Upadhyay rule upholding the government decision.
The bench, quashing the writ petition filed by Jindal, saying that it cannot interfere with the decision as the issue is a policy matter.
The government decision taken in March 2008 became controversial after another Indian company vying for the same project – Jindal Steel and Power Limited -- moved the Supreme Court question against the government. The latter had argued that the government should have selected it in place of Sutlej though a government committee had evaluated it as the best company out of other competitors vying for the project based in Sankhuwasabha district in eastern Nepal. It had also termed the decision as ill-intentioned.
The justices further said that the court cannot check whether the decision was guided by ill-intention. “If there is any ill-intention in the decision, the case should be taken up by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA),” the court ruled.
The Sutlej JVN, according to an agreement with the government, will complete construction of the project within five years (60 months) after it arranges necessary fund for implementation of the project. Besides, the Indian power-generating company will be responsible for constructing access road and transmission line as well as conducting Environment Impact Assessment of the project site. The Nigam will construct the project under Build Own Operate and Transfer policy (BOOT) for 30 years.
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