The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the city government to complete the process of selecting a Project Management Consultant (PMC) for the long-pending judicial housing project in Dwarka within two months of issuing the tender.
A division bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued the order after reviewing a status report filed by the Delhi government. The report stated that the Inter-Departmental Monitoring Committee (IDMC), constituted by the law department, would take a final call on issuing the tender for appointing the PMC during its upcoming meeting on July 28.
“We direct that the tender process for the selection of the PMC shall be completed within four weeks from the date of issuing tenders, if it is permissible under rules, or within the minimum possible time as may be available under the rules. In any case, the process for tender for selection of PMC shall be completed within two months from the date the tender is issued,” the court ordered.
The directive came in response to a petition filed by the Judicial Service Association of Delhi, highlighting the acute shortage of government accommodation for judicial officers in the capital. According to the plea, only 348 housing units are available against the sanctioned strength of 900 officers, forcing many judicial officers to live far from their courts in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Earlier this week, the court had expressed dissatisfaction with the Delhi government’s lack of tangible progress in implementing its May 23 directive, which required the completion of housing construction for judicial officers in Dwarka Sector 19 within two years.
During Thursday’s hearing, the petitioner’s counsel raised concerns about the committee mentioned in the government’s report, pointing out that it was originally constituted to monitor existing housing projects at Shastri Park, Karkardooma, and Rohini. Advocate Nigam argued that the committee’s mandate did not extend to overseeing the Dwarka project or making specific recommendations regarding the appointment of a PMC for it.
