Dharavi consultant awarded 2.85 cr

Mumbai: Mukesh Mehta, who conceived the Rs 5,600-crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) in 2004 has been awarded Rs 2.85 crore for his services as a consultant to the state by an arbitral tribunal. 

    The amount includes Rs 1.86 crore fees and Rs 59 lakh which was 5% of the fees withheld under the contract condition as retention money. The tribunal has also directed the state government to pay a 14% interest on both the amounts from May 16, 2011 onwards (the date on which the tender process was cancelled) till the date of realization. According to the agreement terms, Mehta was to receive Rs 14 crore towards pre-tender activities. The government had paid Rs 12.63 crore and had withheld 5% of the amount. 
    In 2004, the DF government approved the DRP, which was at that time estimated at Rs 5,600 crore. Subsequently in November 2008, it appointed Mehta as a project consultant and asked him to undertake pre-tender work. 
    The tribunal has noted that the Mehta's consent to the contract was obtained by financial duress. But it rejected his claim that his remuneration ceiling be ignored. The tribunal noted that it had no jurisdiction to consider claims not covered by the agreement. 
    The tribunal noted that the claimant was not working on the project as a philanthropist. Even the respondent was not treating it as a welfare project. "It (SRA) intended to make profit and this is evident from the agreement where the respondent agreed to give a nice premium to the claimant." 
    The SRA had argued that since the contract was subsisting, Mehta was not entitled to the retention money and it would be returned to him only after post-tender work is completed. The tribunal, however, said the agreement did not stipulate any such condition. Also for two years, no work was undertaken by either party under the contract.