Debasish Borah v. The State of Assam and 3 Ors

ORDER

05.08.2024 Heard Mr. G. Pathak, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Mr. B. Gogoi, learned counsel for all the respondents.

¶2The petitioner's case is that he is a registered contractor under the Public Works Department. The petitioner has completed the work "Repair & Rehabilitation of Kuruabahi Bebejia Road for 2010-11. (By E/W in Side Slopes & Shoulders, WBM Gr.II & Gr.III Works Followed by SDBC etc. from 1st Km to 9th Km & 13th Km to 15th Km) Gr.III (8300.00 m to 15000.00 m)" in March, 2012, complying with the terms and conditions as per the work order allotted to him. A Final Running Bill for Rs.3,34,198/- (Three Lakh Thirty Four Thousand One Hundred Ninety Eight) only had been prepared by the office of the respondent No.4, but no payment of the same has been made. The outstanding liability in respect of the above mentioned works done by the petitioner is not in dispute and the authority concerned are bound to pay the dues.

¶3Mr. B. Gogoi, learned counsel for the PWRD, Assam has submitted a letter E Comp. No.508315/4 dated 28.06.2024 issued by the Chief Engineer, PWD

(Road) and the para wise comments annexed therein. Page No.# 3/4

¶4A perusal of the para wise comments shows that the petitioner's final bill value for his contract work was Rs.81,06,031/- and payment of Rs.77,71,833/- has been made. The balance amount due to the petitioner is Rs.3,34,198/-.

¶5Paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 of the para wise comments/reply made by the State respondents and which has been forwarded by the Chief Engineer, PWD(Roads) are reproduced hereinbelow as follows- "Para 2: He is registered Contractor and successfully completed the work. Para 3: Yes, Preliminary Work Order No. CE/Commn/MN/33/2010-11/24 Dated 17/02/2011. Para 4: Yes, Formal Work Order No. CE/Commn/MN/33/2010-11/35 Dated 23/05/2011 Para 5: Total Final Bill value Rs.81,06,031.00

Payment made Rs.77,71,833.00

Balance Rs.3,34,198.00 Para 6: Yes. Para 7: Yes, already paid Rs.77,71,833.00 Para 8: Yes, Balance amount due to the contractor Rs.3,34,198.00 Para 9 : Accounts details of pay concerned along with the past bill was submitted to the Chief Engineer PWD (Roads), Assam, Chandmari, Guwahati-3 vide this office letter No. A/45/29/2328 Dated 16/11/2015 for making payment of outstanding dues for Rs.3,34,198.00." Page No.# 4/4

¶6The letter dated 28.06.2024 issued by the Chief Engineer, PWD (Roads) and the para wise comments are made a part of the record and marked as 'Annexure-X' collectively.

¶7In view of there being an admission by the State respondents that the petitioner is liable to be given his outstanding dues of Rs.3,34,198/-, the State respondents are directed to pay the admitted amount to the petitioner, within a period of 3(three) months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

¶8The writ petition is accordingly disposed of.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010106492024 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/2875/2024o DEBASISHoBORAHo S/O-oLATEoGHANAoKANTAoBORAH,o R/O-oKACHALUKHOWA,o P.O,oP.SoANDoDISTRICT-oNAGAON,oASSAM,oPIN-782001 VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo3oORSo REP.oBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSPECIALoSECRETARY,oPUBLICoWORKSo DEPARTMENTo(ROADS)o oDISPUR,oGUWAHATI-781006,oASSAM 2:THEoSECRETARY oTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oPUBLICoWORKSoDEPARTMENTo(ROADS)o oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-781006 oASSAM 3:THEoCHIEFoENGINEER oPUBLICoWORKSoDEPARTMENTo(ROADS)o oCHANDMARI oGUWAHATI-781003 oASSAM 4:THEoEXECUTIVEoENGINEER oPWD oNAGAONoSTATEoROADoDIVISIONo oNAGAON oP.OoANDoDIST.-oNAGAON Page No.# 2/4 ASSAM PIN-78200 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR B SARMAH, MR G PATHAK Advocate for the Respondent : SC, PWD, BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA