Admitted claims for executed restoration works under disaster funds attract recurring cause of action via departmental acknowledgments; delay and laches no bar; courts direct release with interest on default.

JUDGMENT :

M A CHOWDHARY, J.

1. Petitioner claiming to be regist ered as ‘A’ Class contractor asserts that he was allotted a contract for the restoration of damaged Sidhra-Surinsar-Mansar Road from 6 km to 21 km with approach road to Surinsar Lake with an estimated cost of an amount of Rs.25.50 lakhs and for construction of the road 2 km from Kana Chargal to Mela at an estimated cost of Rs.4.50 lakh by the respondent-PW(R&B) Construction Division-II, Jammu in September 2014.

2. Petitioner has further pleaded that after allotment of the contract, the petitioner deployed his men and machinery at the site and commenced the work on war footing and completed the same within a short span of less than two months; that on completion of the allotted restoration work, the District Development Commissioner, Jammu vide his communication dated 11.08.2015 submitted the information to Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, about the restoration of the damaged roads by the agency to whom the said work had been allotted; that the respondent No.5-Executive Engineer, Public Works Department requested the respondent No.3-Chief Engineer to get the funds to the tune of Rs.25.20 lakh released and placed at the disposal of the concerned office, so that the pending liability may be cleared, however, despite various correspondences and recommendations made by different authorities for the release of funds for meeting out the pending liability, including the amount due and payable to the petitioner, for the aforesaid executed works, neither the funds were released nor the payment was made to the petitioner; and that the petitioner had been made to run from pillar to post for release of the payment of the works executed by him; that the respondents have illegally withheld huge amount of the petitioner for no fault on his part and it was finally prayed that the respondents be directed to make the payment of admitted liability of Rs.29.20 lakh along with interest @ 15 % per annum in respect of the works of the respondents-department, executed by the petitioner.

3. The petitioner besides other communications, placed on record a communication of Executive Engineer, PWD(R&B), Construction Division-II, Jammu to the Superintending Engineer, PWD(R&B) Jammu- Kathua Circle, Jammu vide No.15240-44 dated 17.02.2020, wherein it has been admitted that there was pending liability of an amount of Rs.25.20 lakhs with regard to restoration of Sidhra-Surinsar-Mansar road from km 6 to km 19 with approach road to Surinsar Lake damaged due to heavy rains/flash floods during September, 2014.

4. Pursuant to notice, the Public Works Department has filed reply stating therein that the petition suffers from the vice of delay and laches, however, the claim of the petitioner with regard to pending liability of Rs.25.20 lakhs was not disputed.

5. The respondent No.1-Department of Disaster Management, Relief Rehabilitation and Reconstruction filed counter affidavit asserting therein that SDRF funds are released to the office of the Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners as per the approval of the State Executive Committee (SEC) of SDRF headed by Chief Secretary, Government of J&K, to meet the requirement under National Disasters as per SDRF guidelines, with norms of assistance issued by MHA, Government of India; that the concerned Divisional Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner are the authorities releasing the funds allotted to them and can clear any liability projected to them under the same, subject to fulfillment of guidelines of SDRF; and that the adequate funds under SDRF have already been release