( 1 ) THE present judgment will dispose of suit Nos. 1496-A/86 arising from arbitration proceedings between the parties. The arbitrator, Shri R. S. Gupta has moved this Court under Section 14 (2) of the Indian Arbitration Act and filed the award dated 7th May, 1986 and the proceedings. The respondent. National Thermal Power Corporation, New Delhi, (hereinafter called the corporation ) has impugned the award dated 7th May, 1986 by filing objections under Sections 30 and 33 of the Arbitration Act, 1940 (hereinafter REFERRED TO to as the act ). The other connected suit (Suit No. 1510-A/86) arises out of the award dated 15th May, 1986, rendered by the same arbitrator, in which the claim of the Corporation for refund of alleged excess payment of Rs-4,72,372. 74 for labour escalation was rejected with costs. This matter is being disposed of by a separate judgment but the facts are common as they arise out of the same contract.

( 2 ) THE brief facts of the cases are that the respondent-corporation is a Government of India undertaking and is engaged in establishing a chain of Super Thermal Power plants in the country for generating and for transmitting power (electricity ). The Corporation has its registered office in New Delhi and has one such project in Shaktinagar, District Mirzapur, U. P. The project is known as Singrauli Super Thermal Power Project. The project has been located as close to the coal mines as possible. The project has its own railway system known as merry Go Round (M. G. R.) and railway siding for transporting coal from pit heads of the coal mines to the coal Handling Unit of the project. The place of the project is near the border of Madhya Pradesh. The said M. G. R. railway system passes through certain places in Sidhi District of Madhya Pradesh and certain places in Mirzapur District of U. P. The construction of the railway system involves enormous earth work in formation for railway track and several bridges and culverts had to be constructed on the way and for the said construction of bridges and fly overs with approach banks at different places on the said railway system, the Corporation invited competitive quotation bid tenders from various civil works contractors of established repute. The petitioner company gave its competitive bid tender which was accepted. The quotation bid tenders as submitted were opened on June 16, 1978. The letter of acceptance was issued by the Corporation on October 13, 1978, in favour of the petitioner company and formal agreement dated February 20, 1979 was executed between the parties. The total value of the contract for which, the petitioner company agreed to work was Rs. l,17,61,372. 00. It is an admitted case of the parties that about 80 per cent of the work under the contract was to be done in District Mirzapur U. P. and the remaining work was to be executed in the adjoining Sidhi District in Madhya Pradesh.

( 3 ) THE disputes arose between the parties in respect of reimbursement/refund of variation of prices to the labour and it is contended on behalf of the petitioner that they are entitled to increased wages on the basis of escalation in accordance with the terms of the contract which provided for such payment. The claim was raised by the petitioner on March 7, 1981 and was based on the plea that when the formal contract was entered into between the parties the notification of 1974 provided payment of wages to the labour at the rate of Rs. 2. 00 per day. There was subsequent amendment of the notification on June 27, 1979 which fixed the minimum wages of the labour at the rate of Rs. 4. 00 per day. The disputes,as a conseuence, arose between the parties and the matter was REFERRED TO to the arbitrator on August 9,1983,and the present award has been made in pursuance to such arbitration proceedings. The impugned award was made on May 7, 1986.

( 4 ) THE learned counsel for both the parties have relied on the same provisions of the contract which may now