NEW DELHI: South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has passed four proposals to approve Rs 44 crore in relief to the border toll contractor in payment of share of funds for June, July, August, November and December 2021 and January 2022 under the force majeure clause.
The proposals, passed in a standing committee meeting on Thursday, included one for remission in the amount collected from the contractor for November 18 to 28 and another for relaxation from November 29 to December 19 due to the losses suffered owing to restrictions imposed to control air pollution in Delhi.
The third proposal is for the remission in payment for the period between December 27, 2021 and January 30, 2022, and the fourth one between June 14 and August 1, 2021 due to the losses owing to the Covid-19 restrictions imposed in Delhi-NCR.
The standing committee chairman, Lt Col B K Oberoi (retd), said the proposals were rejected earlier, but the contractor had argued before the higher authorities that due to the night curfew during the pandemic, the flow of vehicles was affected big time at border areas, which automatically reduced the revenue.
“The agency stated that it had also suffered losses due to the restrictions imposed in the wake of rising air pollution. Finally, a high-level committee formed for the toll tax with members from the three civic bodies agreed to give the remission,” said Oberoi.
The force majeure clause in the contract agreement states that a contractor can claim remission and a high-level committee will be constituted to check the claims of losses due to “any restriction/ban on the entry of commercial vehicles into Delhi for any reason whatsoever, if notified by the Government of India, Delhi-NCT, Central Pollution Control Committee or by the court of law”, Oberoi said.
The agreement also states that the relief under the clause will be calculated based on the daily information report received from the RFID system from 13 entry points, through which approximately 85% of commercial vehicles enter Delhi. “The high-level committee will, however, decide the final remission after keeping in view all aspects/facts provided by the successful bidder and the department,” stated SDMC.
