Review of Compensation Clause for Delay in Handing over of Site in Highway Contracts

摘要

The tender documents are highly legal and technical documents, thus due care is required in preparing these documents. The present standard NHAI tender documents for highway contracts are highly comprehensive documents. The documents meticulously cover all the aspects of highway projects. However, the provisions regarding payment of compensation to contractors on account of delay in handing over of the site/ encumbrance free land, as required for completion of the project, are inadequate. Thus there is a need to upgrade this document by making suitable provisions/amending the existing provision to avoid highly inflated/frivolous claims by the contractors in case of delays in handing over of sites/ encumbrance free land, which are sometimes inevitable.