The company PST Engineering Construction (PSTEC), which came under criticism for poor quality of construction in the apartments it built for Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board in K.P. Park, Chennai, had recently bagged a contract from National Highways Authority of India as well, a statement by the Tamil Nadu government pointed out on Tuesday.
The statement was issued in response to the criticism over the State government awarding a contract for ₹82.87 crore to the company for developing infrastructure at the upcoming Fintech City in Nandambakkam.
It said the PSTEC was awarded work by various departments after the complaints regarding the construction in K.P. Park emerged in 2021. This included the ₹130.2-crore project awarded by the NHAI for six-laning a section of Thoothukudi Port Road in March this year.
The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), which is executing the Fintech City project, was aware during the technical evaluation of tenders that the TNUHDB had issued a show cause notice to suspend or cancel the registration of PSTEC as a contractor in 2021. However, it was also ascertained that the company had obtained a stay from the Madras High Court over this show cause notice.
Hence, as per the provisions of the Transparency in Tenders Act (TTA), the company could not be prevented from participating in the bidding process. The company had quoted a competitive price, which was 16.34% less than the estimate of TIDCO and hence resulted in significant savings to the government, the statement said.
On allegations that the government had failed to make PSTEC accountable for the poor quality of construction at K.P. Park, the statement said the ongoing process for fixing the accountability for will be continuously followed up by TNUHDB and “it will be ensured that if any lapses are proved, corresponding penal action as per TTA and bid conditions of that project will be taken”.
