The plan, an election plank which helped springboard the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance to power in 1995, has been abruptly stalled by a petition filed by small contractors who allege that the project has been designed to deliberately favour large contractors in the State and country.

The newly-formed Maharashtra Jivan Pradhikaran Contractors' Association (MJPCA) in its petition says the Pradhikaran, an autonomous body set up to oversee and implement the project, has adopted an arbitrary tendering method besides vesting the board with inordinate powers, especially its vice-chairman, Minister for Rural Development and Water Supply, Anna Dange. This will erase any semblance of transparency and encourage unfair practices, thecontractors say.

The petition alleges that the Maharashtra Jivan Pradhikaran Board, in its haste to clear the decks for the entry of large contractors, is oblivious to the fact that the latter invariably inflate original estimates by increasing overhead costs.

Moreover, though it is the board which has prepared the Rs 15,000-crore mega-plan, it is the regional bodies which call for tenders for works in their respective areas, following administrative sanction from the State Government.

The board has empowered executive engineers to sanction tenders below Rs 75 lakh; a superintendent engineer between Rs 75 lakh and Rs 125 lakh; chief engineers between Rs 125 lakh and Rs 500 lakh; while tenders betweenRs 500 lakh and Rs 750 lakh are assigned to the board's member-secretary. All tenders above Rs 750 lakh are the prerogative of the State Government and the board's executive committee.

However, while this was the system adopted by the Pradhikaran as per a government resolution dated February 3, 1998,consequent letters issued by the board between March 26 and July 3, deviate from these slabs, the petition points out.

The amendment was made when the board realised that none of the tenders floated by it was more than Rs 1 crore. Though the total amount to be incurred on various small projects undertaken in Aurangabad at the village and tehsil levels is more than Rs 250 crore, the maximum value of a single tender is Rs 1 crore while the minimum is Rs 25 lakh. In Aurangabad district alone, the project has been split into at least 25 segments though none of them is above Rs 1 crore.

To justify the amendment, the board through its circulars claimed that the paperwork generated by such small works would be colossal and to ostensibly expedite matters it decided to club tenders amounting to a minimum Rs 10 crore. There would be no upper limit, it said. The board also reasoned that this would encourage top contractors, who deploy hi-tech equipment, to bid for the project, resulting in quality work.

However,the MJPCA argues that almost 95 per cent of its 900-odd members in Marathwada are eligible to take up works amounting to just Rs 3 crore, which would automatically disqualify them from bidding for the project.

Should the government proceed with clubbing the tenders, small contractors would lose their livelihood, leaving the field open for large contractors to establish a monopoly in the state, the petition says. The association also points out that small contractors are better equipped to supervise works in rural areas, where there is a critical need for coordination with local residents. As for the board's argument favouring the use of hi-tech equipment deployed by bigger contractors, it says there is no way these machines can be hauled to remote rural areas, where roads are almost non-existent.

The clubbing of tenders and works also violates the saffron alliance's earlier announcement that it would involve fresh civil engineers (both degree and diploma holders). These engineers are allowed to take upworks till Rs 5 lakh. Now, despite the government's mega-project, thousands of young engineers will be denied employment, the petition states.

A division bench, comprising Justices NP Chapalgaonkar and BH Marlappely, has scheduled the next hearing for September 23. VJ Dixit is appearing on behalf of the petitioners.