KARACHI, May 23: The Sindh High Court dismissed on Thursday a petition challenging the award of a contract of consultancy services for engineering, designing, advisory and supervisory services to build the 271-km-long Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) from Sehwan to the sea.

A division bench, comprising the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, and Justice Ghulam Rabbani, rejected the petition.

Petitioner Sajid Mahmood, a professional engineer, who was represented by Zahid Saleem, had contended that contract for the project had been awarded to a consortium of blacklisted companies, which amounted to wasting the taxpayers’ money.

The chief justice of the SHC asked the petitioner to establish his locus standi, and asked the counsel why his clients had not participated in bidding when the bids were invited. The petitioner’s counsel could not satisfy the court on this point.

It was his contention that the order for award of contract concerning the RBOD in favour of the respondents, M/s NESPAK, M/s M. M. P (Pvt) and M/s ACE (Pvt), be declared having been passed arbitrarily, mala fidely, without lawful authority, jurisdiction and of no legal effect.

He also argued for awarding the contract in accordance with the Engineering Consultants Practising Bylaws of 1986 and other applicable laws, in the larger interest of the public.

Through an advertisement in newspapers on July 9, 2001, applications were invited for providing consultancy services for engineering, designing, advisory and supervisory services to build the 271-kilometre-long RBOD from Sehwan to the sea.

It was the contention of the petitioner’s counsel that the above-mentioned respondents deliberately, mala fidely and with ulterior motives did not provide the information of their being blacklisted by the government of Sindh and Wapda while applying for the RBOD project.

He pointed out that the government of Sindh, through its letters dated December 4, 2001 and November 19, 2001 not only blacklisted M/s NESPAK but also recommended cancellation of the enlistment of the firm due to its alleged poor performance as consultant for execution of schemes.

That similarly M/s Mot MacDonald International Consultants were assigned the job of design and supervision of LBOD Projects works in 1986 under the General Manager (water) South Wapda, Hyderabad.