NHAI has secured a major legal victory after an arbitral tribunal awarded it Rs 1,202 crore in a contract dispute (Fille photo).An arbitral tribunal in Delhi last week ruled in favour of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), awarding it Rs 1,202 crore in a contract dispute with IRB Chitradurga Tollway Private Limited regarding the six-laning of the Tumkur–Chitradurga section of National Highway-4 in Karnataka.The project was executed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis under an agreement signed in August 2010 for a 26-year concession period, including 912 days of construction. The project was completed in July 2014, and IRB was required to pay an annual premium of R. 140 crore, with a 5 per cent annual escalation.However, the conflict started when NHAI withdrew the premium deferment benefit in August 2019. The government introduced a premium deferment scheme for “stressed projects” to defer premium payments amid revenue shortfalls caused by global economic slowdowns.Following this, the case reached the arbitral tribunal, where IRB sought the restoration of the premium deferment and claimed Rs 95 crore, as well as an extension of the concession period by 138 days. IRB sought extensions of the concession period and monetary compensation, citing force majeure events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2016 demonetisation, and a transporters’ strike in 2018.NHAI filed counterclaims for premium dues of Rs 679 crore up to November 2022 and for non-payment of revenue share for the Tumkur Bypass of Rs 96 crore.On June 25, the tribunal issued an order in favour of NHAI, awarding Rs 1,202 crore as outstanding premium payable by IRB by June 2026.In another case, the Delhi High Court granted partial relief to NHAI in a dispute concerning the construction of the 30-km-long Bijni-West Bengal border four-laning project in Assam. The court reduced NHAI’s liability from around Rs 162 crore, as awarded by the arbitral tribunal, to Rs 35.91 crore.Story continues below this adAmong government departments, NHAI handles the most very high-value cases. Currently, the authority is a party to 140 arbitration cases, in which contractors have claimed around Rs 1.2 lakh crore, and NHAI has filed counterclaims of Rs 65,000 crore.A senior NHAI official said that the authority has leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse more than 150 arbitral awards.“Our in-house AI system helps in the identification of successful legal strategies that we use in the pleadings in ongoing disputes. The authority is doing regular monitoring and review of high-value arbitration cases by the chairman and senior officers,” said the official.Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with the Business Bureau of The Indian Express. He plays a critical role in covering India's massive infrastructure sectors, providing in-depth reporting on the connectivity lifelines of the nation. Expertise & Focus Areas: Mishra’s journalism is focused on two of the country's most capital-intensive and public-facing ministries: Ministry of Railways: Tracking the operations, safety, and development of India's vast railway network. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways: Covering policy decisions, infrastructure projects, and highway development. What sets Mishra apart is his rigorous use of the Right to Information (RTI) Actas a primary tool for news gathering. By relying on official data and government records, he ensures a high degree of accuracy and trustworthiness in his reporting. This data-driven approach has resulted in numerous impactful reports that hold public institutions accountable and bring transparency to government operations. Find all stories by Dheeraj Mishra here ... Read More