130.

245
No. RW/NH-36094/02/2025-S&R(P&B)( comp no 252074)
Government of India
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

Dated: 22" July, 2025

CIRCULAR
To,

1. The Chief Secretaries of all State Governments/Union Territories.

2. The Principal Secretaries /Secretaries of all States/UTs Public Works Department
dealing with National Highways, other Centrally Sponsored Schemes and State
Schemes.
3. The Engineers-in-Chief and Chief Engineers of Public Works Departments of States/UTs
dealing with National Highways, other Centrally Sponsored Schemes and State
Schemes.
4. Director General (Border Roads), Seema Sadak Bhawan, Ring Road, New Delhi-110 010

5. All CE-RO/RO, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

Subject: Standard Operating Procedure for dealing with matters referred to the Dispute
Resolution Board and Arbitration Award/Court cases related to National Highways
projects entrusted to State PWDs/RCDs/BRO -reg.

Sir/Madam,

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRT&H) is responsible for development &
maintenance of National Highways in the country. State PWD/RCD/BRO are executing agency
for development & maintenance of NHs entrusted to them. Thereby, any decision on
contractual or other matters referred to Litigation/Arbitration or Courts having financial
implications should be taken by State PWD/RCD/BRO only with prior approval of MoRT&H.

2) Ministry has issued guidelines vide circular No 130.52 dated 26.07.1993 and 130.53 dated
23.03.1994 for dealing with matters related to disputes raised in contracts, its conciliation,
reference to DRBs/Arbitration and dealing with appeals made before Courts. Instances of
violation of these guidelines has come to the notice of this Ministry where State
PWDs/RCDs/BRO have taken certain decisions at their level on contractual dispute matters
including Arbitration Awards for National Highways projects without the concurrence of the
Ministry which has resulted into financial implications on Government of India. Such
violations are viewed very seriously by the ministry leading to deductions/restriction on agency
charges payable to the concerned state government.
 3) This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is intended to put in place a mechanism for proper
handling of litigation and arbitration matters involving NH projects entrusted to State
PWDs/RCDs/BRO. The SOP has following two parts:

a) Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for handling contractual disputes and Arbitration
Cases (Annexure-1)
b) Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for handling Court Cases (Annexure-2)

4) Subject to provisions in the respective consultancy agreements, the arbitrations/ court cases
with the consultants shall also be dealt with on similar lines as given above.

5) Review by Regional officer:- Regional officer will carry out Monthly review of all
Mediation by AE/IE, disputes before DRB/AT, conciliation and court case and submit a report
to Zonal head, highlighting the critical issues.

6) These guidelines are issued in suppression of all earlier guidelines issued by Ministry
circular No 130.17 dated 30.09.83, 130.52 dated 26.07.1993, 130.53 dated 23.03.1994 and
circular No CE-RO/LKO/NH-730/UP/2014-15/513 dated 06.02025 on the above mentioned
subject.

7) This issues with the approval of Competent Authority.

You;: ?thfi.\lly‘

(Akil Ahmad)
Superintending Engineer(S&R)
for DG(RD) & SS

Copy to:

1. All ADGs/CEs in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

2. All Technical Officers of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
3. The Secretary General, Indian Roads Congress
4. The Director, [AHE, NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh
5. Technical circular file of S&R (P&B) Section
6. NIC-for uploading on Ministry's website under "What's New"

Copy to:

. PS to Hon'ble Minister (RT&H)

[T S

. PS to Hon'ble MOS (RT&H)

. PSO to Secretary (RT&H)
. PSO to DG (RD) & SS
. Sr. PPS to AS&FA/ All As/IS
 Annexure-1

(Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for handling Contractual disputes

and Arbitration Cases:

1. Pre- requisite before invoking arbitration: -

All the notices/ correspondence/decisions in relation to raising of any dispute

and correspondence thereon etc. shall be uploaded mandatorily on Data lake of
MoRTH (NHAI) by Contractor/State PWD/RCD/BRO.
It has to be ensured that the requisite process is strictly followed as per
respective agreement provisions,
c. Before recourse to the operation of arbitration, efforts shall be made to resolve
the dispute through mediation/conciliation.
The conciliation process can be initiated by either parties at any stage ofdispute
(before DRB, during DRB, arbitration stage, after declaration of award by AT,
AT award is under challenge).
In case if dispute is pending before DRB/AT/Court, if both the parties agree for
conciliation, the conciliation process can be started under intimation to
DRB/AT/Court.
f. The conciliation and settlement mechanism shall be as per Ministry’s circular
No RW/NH-33044/35/2019 dated 18.12.2019.
All the notices/correspondence/ decisions et shall be uploaded mandatorily on
Datalake of MoRTH by contractor/Authority.
All the stages mentioned below may not be applicable for all contracts. The
steps to be taken before invoking arbitration are as given below and shall be
exercised as per the provisions/applicability in the individual contract
agreement:-

1.1 Notification of dispute: - In the event of any dispute, difference, or controversy arising
under or related to the agreement, the aggrieved party (Contractor/ Authority) shall notify the
other party in writing, clearly identifying the "Dispute”. Following procedure shall be followed
for handling notices/ correspondence at any stage of dispute:-

i. All notices ofdisputes shall be sent electronically as well as in physical copy and
shall mandatorily be uploaded on MoRTH(NHAI) Datalake portal by the
contractor/State PWD/RCD/BRO. Data Lake of MoRTH shall be the common
platform for monitoring all disputes between the parties i.e. Contractor and
Authority. In case of any notice of dispute, not uploaded on the Datalake, the State
PWD/RCD/BRO shall be considered as responsible in case of any future adverse
order.
ii. Concerned Authority i.e. State PWD/RCD/BRO shall examine the submissions and
forward its comments/recommendations within 7 days to concerned RO with a copy

LW
 to zonal head at MoRTH HQ, failing which if some adverse decision/award issued
by DRB/AT/Court, the financial implication of such decisions shall be borne by the
State PWD/RCD/BRO. The submission of its examination and recommendation
shall also be uploaded on the Data Lake.

1.2 Mediation through Authority Engineer/ Independent Engineer: -

i) Upon such notification, either party may formally request the Authority Engineer
to assist in reaching an amicable settlement. The dispute shall be formally
submitted to Authority Engineer/ Independent Engineer (a copy uploaded on Data
Lake) with a request to resolve the matter. The AE/IE shall make a report after
giving an opportunity of hearing to both parties.

ii) The report of AE shall be uploaded on MoRTH Datalake portal.

iii) The State PWD/RCD/BRO concerned shall submit a report/ proposal to the
Regional Officer Zonal Head at MoRTH HQ within § days of report of AE/IE with
his recommendations as to whether to accept the findings of the AE/IE along with
appropriate supporting justifications. The RO concerned shall also give his
independent report along with clear recommendations along with the justification
to the Zonal head at MoRTH HQ within 5 days of receipt of recommendations of
AE/IE. The Zonal Head at Hqrs shall take decision on the issue within 15 days. The
decision taken shall be uploaded on the Data Lake portal.

1.3 Reference to Dispute Resolution Board (DRB) (If DRB has been constituted
for the Project):-

i) Ifintervention by AE/IE fails or either party is not satisfied with the decision of
AE/IE, either party may refer the dispute to the Dispute Resolution Board
(DRB) as per the procedure specified in the Contract Agreement. Both parties
shall provide all the necessary Co-operation promptly. The DRB shall give it
decision within 30 days or within such time limits as specified in the agreement,
whichever is earlier. In case both parties agree, DRB may be disbanded and
matter may proceed to Conciliation.

ii) The concerned State PWD/RCD/BRO shall submit a report/ proposal to

Regional officer of MoRTH within 5 days of receipt of recommendations of
DRB with its recommendations as to whether to accept the findings of the DRB
with the appropriate supporting justifications. The RO concerned shall give his
independent report along with clear recommendations and supporting
justification to the Zonal Head at MoRTH HQ within 5 days of receipt of
recommendations of DRB. The Zonal Head at MoRTH HQ shall take a decision
on the matter within 15 days thereafter or refer it with his/her recommendations
to DG(RD)&SS.

ii) All the Notices/ correspondence and decisions related to DRB shall be uploaded
on MoRTH Datalake portal.
14 Reference to conciliation: - Before formally making a reference for Arbitration, the
parties may resolve to conciliate and settle the dispute through alternate dispute
resolution mechanism as per Ministry’s circular No RW/NH-33044/35/2019 dated
18.12.2019 (Copy enclosed) and avoid lengthy and costly process of Arbitration.

2, Nomination of Arbitrators and Constitution of Arbitral Tribunals:

21 If the process given in para 1 above or conciliation has been exhausted or failed, either
party may invoke the arbitration. State PWD/RCD/BRO shall forward copies of
notices of either party invoking arbitration within 5 days to the Zonal head at MoORTH
the
HQ and RO concerned along with the list of claims, copy of arbitration clause in
ites
agreement/ supplementary agreement and status of compliance of pre-requis
the
before invoking arbitration as explained at Para-1 above, so as to nominate
the claims
arbitrator of Ministry well within the time prescribed. RO will examine all
y
raised by the contractor and submit his independent comments along with possibilit
of further conciliation with contractor to Zonal Head at HQ.
tion from State
Immediately on receipt of copies of notices invoking arbitra
[
[N

H, HQ shall process
PWD/RCD/BRO as at Para-2.1 above, concerned zone at MoRT
arbitrator of Ministry
the case and put up to DG (RD) & SS to decide the nominee
time prescribed.
and immediately convey it to State PWD/RCD/BRO within the

ation in accordance
23 Some of the existing agreements of Projects may provide for arbitr
International
with the Rules of Arbitration of the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA)/
other rules as may be
Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) or such
follow the Institutional
mutually agreed by the parties. The efforts shall be made to
agreed by both Parties
Arbitration for timely and affordable dispute resolution. As
-
any of the following institution for arbitration may be selected:
lished by NHAI
i) Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes (SAROD) (Estab
and NHBF),
e Delhi
ii) Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DTAC) (Established by Hon’bl
High court)
Law,
iii) India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC) (Established by Ministry of
under [IAC Act 2019).
are prescribed,
Therefore, in the existing agreements, where ICA or ICADR rules
a Supplementary
State PWD/RCD/BRO and RO concerned may explore and sign
the Concessionaire/contractors to follow —any of
Agreement with
mentary Agreement
SAROD/DIAC/IAC Rules of Arbitration (a copy of draft Supple
ed for other
for SAROD is enclosed at Annexure — 4. The same may be suitably modifi
procedures of
institutions). State PWD/RCD/BRO shall follow the applicable rules/
arbitration scrupulously.
tment of
24 The provisions of mode of selection of arbitrator shall be followed for appoin
ors selected
the Presiding Arbitrator, which may sometimes (where the two arbitrat

4
 by the parties fail to agree on the Presiding Arbitrator) require referring the matter to
the concerned Arbitration institution e.g. ICA, ICADR, SAROD, DIAC, IIAC, IRC,
etc or to the court. RO shall take timely action in this regard in consultation with the
Zonal Head at MoRTH HQ.

Each of the nominated/ selected arbitrators is required to give a disclosure in writing

to the parties as per sub section (2) of Section-12, in terms of the Fifth & Seventh
Schedule of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (A&C Act) and in the form
strictly as prescribed in the Sixth Schedule of A&C Act on the existence of
circumstances including : (a) such as any relationship with or without interest in any
of the parties or in relation to the dispute, which is likely to give rise to justifiable
doubts as to his independence or impartiality; and (b) which are likely to affect his
ability to devote sufficient time to the arbitration.

2.6 Immediately on receipt of such disclosures, the State PWD/RCD/BRO and RO

concerned shall examine as to whether such disclosures cover all the grounds given
in Fifth & Seventh Schedule of A&C Act and identify the grounds for challenge, if
any. If any nominated/ selected arbitrator is found to be ineligible to be appointed as
an Arbitrator, RO shall file a written statement of challenge before the
Arbitral
Tribunal [Refer Section-13(2) of A&C Act] (and before arbitration institution),
within
the time limits prescribed in A&C Act. The concerned zone at MoRTH HQ shall
maintain data on such disclosures, statements filed by the parties and the
decisions of
AT/AT institution and upload the same on Datalake.

3. Expenses and Fees of the Arbitrators:

3.1 In case of Arbitrations under the rules of ICA/ ICADR/ SAROD/DIAC/IIAC,

the fees
and expenses payable to the Arbitrators, the administrative/ registration fee payable
to
the institution, etc. shall be as prescribed in the rules of ICA/
ICADR/
SAROD/DIAC/IIAC.
The Arbitration Tribunal shall give its decision within 12 months as per A&C
Act
1996. The parties may, by consent, extend the period for making award for a further
period not exceeding six months. If the award is not made within the said period, the
mandate of the arbitrator(s) shall terminate unless specifically extended with the prior
approval of Secretary (RT&H).

Place of Arbitration and Venue for hearings of AT:

4.1 The place of arbitration shall be as decided in the agreement. The venue for the
meetings of AT shall be through Video Conference (VC)/physically as agreed by the
Parties. All the meetings shall be attended by EE, PWD either at place of meeting
or
place of Chairman of Arbitration Tribunal and a summary report of the proceedings
uploaded on the Datalake portal.
S5 Engaging a Law Firm/ Advocate; Techno Legal Expert; Sr. Advocate:

5.1 The Advocate (including Law Firm) for defending Authority before the Arbitral
Tribunal shall be appointed at the time of nomination of Arbitrator of Authority, as per
the Government of India extant guidelines. For important/ high value cases (where
amount of claims is in excess of Rs 100 crores or in BOT Contracts) the private
advocate/ Sr Advocate can be appointed from the list of advocates empanelled by
NHALI in consultation with NHAL

The fee of advocates appointed in consultation of NHAI shall be as per the NHAI
that time. For
schedule of fee of Law Firms/Advocates/St. Advocate prevailing at
with NHAI, the
Private Advocates/Sr Advocates, so appointed in consultation
for the
payment shall be made from the contingencies or special sanction sought
purpose from zonal head at Headquarters.
is required to be engaged
Considering the requirements of the case, if a Sr. Advocate
nted by Central Govt for
to defend the Ministry before the AT, then ASG appoi
case or to nominate any Senior
concerned High Court shall be requested to attend the
of Sr. Advocate may be
Panel Counsel on his behalf. However, such engagement
hearing(s) of AT.
restricted to important stage(s) of arbitration or important
Techno Legal Experts/ Sr.
The Schedule of Fees of other Law Firms/ Advocates/
) shall be as per guidelines of
Advocates (not appointed with consultation with NHALI
for Senior Advocates/ Private
the Ministry of Law & Justice. Deviations in fees
competent Authority, at the time
advocate may be decided, with prior approval of the
of seeking approval for the engagement.
f of Authority:
6. Submissions before the Arbitral Tribunal on behal
eer of State PWD/BRO of
6.1 Executive Engineer of concerned RO/ Executive Engin
of Authority before the
concerned division shall be the authorized representatives
the appointed Advocate
Arbitral Tribunal. State PWD/RCD/BRO shall liaise with
and RO concerned.
of the dispute within 15
6.2 The State PWD/RCD/BRO concerned shall submit a brief
on any dispute along
days of receipt of a notice invoking arbitration of either party
e along with a proper
with the copies of all correspondence exchanged on the disput
ng purposes.
index to the RO and Zonal Head, which will be used for briefi
Claimant, the State
6.3 Within 15 days of receipt of Statement of Claim of the
para-wise replies on the
PWD/RCD/BRO shall furnish preliminary submissions,
Advocate engaged by
claims and details of counter-claims of Authority to the
Authority with a copy to the RO & the Zonal Head at HQ.
statement of defense
6.4 Within 15 days, the Advocate of Authority shall prepare the draft
concerned RO. Then,
and counter-claims of Authority and submit the same to the
draft and furnish their
within 15 days, the RO & Zonal head at HQ shall review the
suitably and submit
comments to the Advocate who in turn shall modify the drafts

A
 final draft within 7 days to the RO. Then, within 5 days, the RO shall take the approval
of DG (RD) &SS and State PWD/RCD/BRO shall submit the same before the AT.
The monitoring of timelines shall be ensured through Datalake portal.

6.5 In case Authority is the claimant, the process will remain identical as described above
with the appropriate changes in the nomenclature. As above, 2 months’ time is
required to file the submissions of Authority before the AT. However, if AT allows
shorter time keeping in view the time limits given in the A&C Act [Refer Section-
29(A)], the above timelines may be squeezed suitably and the State PWD/RCD/BRO
shall ensure timely submissions before the AT. Seeking extension of time for
submissions or adjournment of hearings of AT shall be avoided and if the same are
unavoidable, approval of Zonal Head at HQ concerned shall be taken, duly
explaining
the unavoidable circumstances. Zonal Head concerned at HQ may
permit such
requests judiciously.

6.6 AT hearings shall be attended by the officers from PWD/BRO/Ministry

as under:
Arbitrations where Claim or] Officer of PWD/BRO/Ministry
who has to
Counter-Claim Value is attend AT hearings besides Advocate/
Techno Legal Expert engaged by Authority
IUp to Rs. 50 Crore Executive Engineer PWD/BRO shall attend all
AT hearings.
More than Rs. 50 Crore and up to| Executive Engineer PWD/BRO
and EE/AEE at
Rs. 500 Crore RO shall attend all AT hearings. DG (RD)
&SS/ Zonal Head at HQ will decide, if,
concerned RO personally is required to attend
any specific hearing(s), on perusal of
proceedings of the AT.

(i) RO/SE at RO Concerned along with SE

PWD/BRO shall attend all important AT
hearings.
(ii) In case the Claim/ Counter Claim Amount
More than Rs. 500 Crore is more than Rs. 1,000 crore, Zonal Head at HQ
shall attend either personally or through V.C.
the important AT hearings, as decided by the
DG(RD)&SS on perusal of proceedings of AT.

Notes:-

® Any deviation to the requirements in above table, needs prior approv

al of DG (RD)
&SS.
® The conferences/ briefings of Sr. Advocate (if engaged) shall invariably be
attended by
the concerned RO/SE/EE of RO office.

W
 o Secretarial support Staff shall be arranged by the State PWD/RCD/BRO to assist in
organizing AT hearings at venues.
o The officer attending AT hearing shall submit an AT proceeding report with all relevant
details and important observations made by AT during hearing to zonal head on
Datalake.

6.7 During the arbitral proceedings, the officers from State PWD/RCD/BRO, as and
when required, in consultation with the Advocate, file various applications before
AT/ Court to protect the interest of Authority like allowing interim measures,
challenging the appointment of arbitrator(s), AT'’s jurisdiction, limitation, etc.

6.8 For arbitration relating to the disputes arising at site of the projects, State
PWD/RCD/BRO and RO shall be solely responsible for bringing all relevant facts
on behalf
and documents, including correctness of calculations in the submissions
of Authority, and for timely submission of all relevant documents from time to time
to the RO, as required for the case during the proceedings of AT.

7. Examination of award:-

ement of corrections
7.1 After receipt of AT Award, State PWD will examine the requir
with RO, MoRTH
and interpretation of award or additional award in consultation
prescribed limits w/s
and move an appropriate application before the AT within the
33 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act (A&C Act).

PWD in consultation with

72 Within 30 days of receipt of AT Award, the State
ing format to zonal
Advocate/ Standing Counsel shall give its view in the follow
head at MoRTH HQ:-

Claim _ |lssues |Finding [Amount [Interest [Views Views o

Dispute/ [Brief
|on thejthe
Claim |Description [Amount [framed |of AT on| IAwarded |Awarded
umber |of claim lwithout [by ATlissues [by ATlby AT (fissues [Amount
|under the (without |from- to & |Award
interest
claim interest) [Rate)

be highlighted.
Note:- In case of dissenting award, the dissenting issues may

their independent
Within 15 days of receipt of AT Award, the RO shall also furnish
tions to
views on AT Award in the above format, alongwith their recommenda
AT award.
CE/ADG at HQ duly supported with legal opinion to challenge or accept

ned zone
74 Within 15 days of receipt of above recommendations of RO, the concer
and clearly
shall submit a proposal to competent Authority by giving its views
rence of
stating whether to accept or challenge the AT Award after obtaining concur

M 9
 finance wing of Ministry. If AT award is to be challenged, RO shall ensure timely
filing of an application before court (Refer Section -34(3) of A&C Act). Any delay
on part of State PWD/RCD/BRO leading to cost implication shall be borne by the
State Government.

7.5 In case of acceptance of AT Award by competent Authority in full or in part, the

applicable payment shall be released immediately to the Contractor so as to avoid
interest on delayed payment given in AT Award.

Competent Authority to accept or challenge the recommendation of Arbitral

award:-
8.1 The RO concerned shall examine the AT Award and process the case as per
delegation of power. Wherever the matter is to be placed before the higher
Authority, the RO concerned shall do so with his recommendations on
as to
whether the Award should be accepted in full, or part or further contested.
Payable Amount (without interest) Competent Authority to accept
or
involved in/challenge
recommendations/award/ order
Upto 5 crore Zonal Head at HQ
IAbove 5 crore but upto 50 crore IDG(RD) & SS on the recommendation of
lthe committee comprising of concerned
Zonal ADG/CE and representative of [FD
and concerned CE of state PWD/CE
(BRO)
|Above 50 crores Secretary (RT&H) on recommendation of
[the committee comprising of
[DG(RD)&SS, AS&FA, concerned RO
and concerned CE of state PWD/CE
(BRO)

8.2 While recommending acceptance or challenge of AT Award, the

RO/
Committée as above shall consider DOE’s ‘General Instructions
on
Procurement and Project Management’ issued vide circular No F.1/1/2
021-
PPD dated 29.10.2021 and ‘Guidelines for Arbitration and Mediation
in
Contracts of Domestic Public Procurement’ issued vide circular F.1/2/2024-
PPD dated 03.06.2024 or any amendment or modification of above.

In case the prescribed time limit to challenge any recommendation/award/ord

er,
not in favour of Ministry is lapsing, RO concerned shall first instruct State PWD
to challenge it and thereafter ratify a decision from Headquarter. If competent
Authority decides to accept the recommendations/award/order, the challenge made
shall be withdrawn by RO in consultation with the State PWD/RCD/BR
O after
making as appropriate application before the court.

H/M o
 Annexure-2
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for handling Court Cases:

1. Filing an application for setting aside the Arbitral Award in the Court, engaging &
briefing Advocate/ Sr. Advocate, attending the hearings in the Court and accepting
or challenging the order of the Court:

Il Soon after taking decision to challenge AT Award, if time provided is lapsing, the
State PWD/RCD/BRO shall approach the advocate, who attended the arbitration on
behalf of Ministry or another advocate with approval of RO, to draft the application to
be filed before the court having the jurisdiction of the case.
The Advocate shall draft the application, get it vetted by Sr. Advocate (if proposed to
be engaged for the case) and furnish to the State PWD/RCD/BRO within 15 days of
receipt of reference as at 1.1 above. State PWD/RCD/BRO shall finalize the draft and
obtain the approval of DG (RD) &SS at least one week before the prescribed time
get it
limits (limitation period). RO concerned shall sign the affidavit/ application and
filed through the Advocate/ Sr. Advocate in the court within the limitation period.
MoRTH.
123 The case details shall be entered by the RO in the Datalake portal of
on Bench of same
Accepting or Challenging the Order of Single Judge before Divisi
High Court:
RO
2.1 Within 7 days of receipt of the Order of Single Judge. the PWD/BRO and
)&SS:-
independently shall give their opinion in the following format to the DG(RD
Claim |lssues |Findings [Amount [Interest |Orders Opinion
Dispute/ Brief
thejof
Claim Description [Amount [framed |of AT on|Awarded |Awarded [of
[without [by AT|lssues [by ATlby AT|Cou rt |Advocate
umber [of Claim
interest [under (without |(From — Tojon
[this interest) [& Rate) [Issues
Claim

case and either

Within 7 days of receipt of the above, zonal Head shall process the
()
S}

ity to
give his decision, if he is competent or obtain decision of the Competent Author
accept or challenge the order.
the Competent
In case the prescribed time limit to challenge the order is lapsing and
.
e

the State
Authority is not readily available, the RO concerned may direct
the competent
PWD/RCD/BRO to do the needful and get the same ratified from
order, the
authority later. If the competent authority, however, decides to accept the

V] "
challenge made may be withdrawn.
3. The procedure as given at Para-2 above shall be followed to challenge the order of Ld.
Single Judge before the Division Bench of the same High Court or to challenge the order
of Division Bench before the Supreme Court. However, RO shall ensure timely filing of
the appeals before the Division Bench or Supreme Court within the limitation period.
4. The limitation period, which starts from the date of receipt of award/ order is as under:

(i) The Arbitral Award is to be either accepted or challenged within a period of 90 days
before the Court of Law [Refer Section-34(3) of A&C Act].

(ii) The order/ judgment of the Single Judge of High Court is to be either complied with
or challenged within a period of 30 days before the Division Bench of the same High
Court.

(iii) The order/ judgment of the Division Bench ofthe High Court is to be either complied
with or challenged before Hon'ble Supreme Court within a period of 90 days.

5. Attending to the Petitions/ Applications/ Appeals of Contractor/ Concessionaires in

the
Courts:

6.1 In case the Contractor/ Concessionaire files a petition in the court, the Govt
Standing
Counsel in that court, after taking the notice/ advance copy of the petition
, shall
inform RO concerned and seek instructions. RO shall immediately inform
the Zonal
head/DG (RD) &SS concerned about the petition filed.

6.2 The RO shall prompily respond, engage either the Standing Counsel of
Govt or the
advocate who dealt with the case earlier for the admission/ preliminary
hearing,
supply all important documents to the advocate and make best efforts to ensure
that
no interim stay/ restraint order/ relief is granted against Ministry by the court
in the
admission/ preliminary hearing. Such admission/ preliminary hearings
shall
invariably be attended by RO.

6.3 Thereafter, the case may be defended on behalf of Ministry as per the procedure

7. Decretal Amounts ordered by the Courts on Execution Petitions:-

7.1 In cases where the Court has decreed the arbitral award amount, although
Ministry/State PWD/RCD/BRO has filed an Appeal before a higher court, but interim
relief is not granted immediately by the higher court, RO shall take approval of the
competent Authority and deposit the decretal amount in the Registry of the Court
through the Advocate, with the leave of the Court, subject to the outcome of the
pending appeal in the higher court. The details of such decretal amount deposited
in
the court shall be entered by the RO in the Datalake Portal.

7.2 Sometimes, the arbitral awards are partially accepted by Ministry. In such cases also,
prompt payments may be made to the extent of partially accepted award and mention
the same in the application before the court to prove the bona fides ofbefore the Court.
In this case too, details of payment made shall be entered by the RO in the Datalak
e
Portal

4 .
 Annexure —3

Schedule of Expenses and Fees payable to the Member(s) of Dispute Review Expert/
Dispute Adjudication Board/ Dispute Review Board

The amounts payable to the member(s) of Dispute Review Expert (DRE)/ Dispute Adjudication
Board (DAB)/ Dispute Review Board (DRB) shall be as under:

Sr. Amount Payable

No. Particulars

[Retainer-ship fee, secretarial assistance and [Rs. 30,000/~ per month for one package and
1 lincidental Charges (telephone, fax, postage [maximum of Rs. 50,000/~ per month for 2
letc.) or more packages

2(i) [Fee for site visit or meetings at site Rs. 10,000/- per day

(i) [Fee for meetings/ hearings not at site Rs. 7,000/~ per day

Economy Class by Air, A C First Class by

B [Traveling Expenses itrain and A.C Taxi by road

[Rs. 15,000/- per day (Metro Cities); or

4 [Lodging & Boarding Rs. 8,000/~ per day (in other cities); or
IRs. 5,000/~ per day (own arrangement)

[Extra charges for days other than hearing/

5 |meeting days (travel days maximum of2 Rs. 5,000/~ per day
days on each occasion)

Notes:
those members who are
(i) Lodging, boarding and traveling expenses will be allowed only for
residing 100 kms away from the place of meeting.
considered as Metro
(ii) Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata. Bangalore and Hyderabad shall be
Cities.
after the date of issue of
(iiii) The above schedule of fee and expenses shall be applicable on or
this Circular.
le before releasing the
(iv) The consent of the Contractor may be obtained on the above schedu
parties.
payments to the member(s) as the expenses are to be shared equally by the

Y4 s
 Annexure-4

Supplementary Agreement
This Agreement is entered into on this ......... day of .o as a Supplement to
Apreementdated: e svem savss s hairennmm

Between
Ministry of Road Transport & Highway, Govt of India hereinafter referred to as “Authority”
which expression shall unless repugnant to the context or meaning thereof, includes its
administrators, successors and assignees of one part

And
MIS. ity TegiStered 48 2 Company under the Companies Act,
1956 having its Head Office at ... hereinafter referred
to as
Concessionaire/Contractor which expression shall unless repugnant to the context or
meaning
thereof; includes its successors and assignees of other part

The Authority and the Contractor are individually referred to as party and collecti
vely as
parties.

WHEREAS
(a) Parties entered into Concession Agreement/Contract Agreement dated
execution of the WOrk of .......cc.....cooevvveoorrveceseesooo foOr @ period of
. years on
DBFOT/EPC.
(b) Whereas the Concession/Contract Agreement provides for resolution of
dispute under
Clause s

(c) Whereas the Authority and National Highways Builder Federation (NHBF) have
formed a
Society named “Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes™ (SAROD)
under Societies
Registration Act 1860 with the following objectives:

(i) Affordable cost

(ii) Timely resolution ofdisputes in just and fair manner; and
(iii) Enrichment of Dispute Resolution Mechanism with association of technical
experts.
(d) Whereas the Authority and Concessionaire/Contractor are desirous of availing the
services
of SAROD for resolution of disputes and have solemnly resolved to refer the
existing
disputes/future disputes/ongoing disputes with Arbitral Tribunal forthwith, accordin
gly, the
relevant provisions of dispute resolution are proposed to be amended.

NOW THEREFORE, the parties have mutually agreed as follows:

1. That the Clause . of the Concession Agreement/ Contract Agreement is

hereby amended to be read as follows:
“Any dispute/ difference arising out of aforesaid Concession/Contract Agreement which
is not
resolved amicably as provided in Clause .. shall be finally settled by Arbitration as set
forth
orth below
below:- W "
(i) The dispute shall be referred to SAROD for resolution by Arbitration in accordance with
Rules of SAROD and Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 as amended from time to time (or
which is pending with Arbitral Tribunal presided over by ... shall be referred
to SAROD). The Parties shall choose the Arbitrators from the panel of Arbitrators empanelled
by the SAROD. The Arbitral Tribunal shall consist of Sole Arbitrator in case total claim of
dispute is Rs. 3 Crore or less. In case the disputed claim is more than Rs. 3 Crore, the Tribunal
shall consist of odd number of Arbitrators to be nominated by the parties. The Presiding
Arbitrator shall be appointed by the Arbitrators nominated by the parties in terms of Rule-11.2
of SAROD. Further, the terms of appointment of Arbitrators shall be governed by Rule-11.3 to
Rule-11.5, 12.1, 12.2 and 13 of SAROD.
(ii) The arbitral proceedings shall be held at ......... (State Capital or as per agreement) and the
language of arbitral proceedings and that of all correspondence between the parties shall be in
English.

(iii) While the curial law of proceedings shall be Rules of the SAROD and various provisions
of Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, the dispute shall be governed by substantive law of
India e.g. The Indian Contract Act 1872 and Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, National
Highways Act 1956 etc.

(iv) Code of Ethics for Arbitrators shall be governed by Rule-15 of SAROD.

(v) Fee of Arbitrators and expenses incurred in the arbitration proceedings shall be shared by
the parties in equal proportion in terms of Rule-15.10 of SAROD.

(vi) All procedural aspects in the arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in terms of the
Rules of SAROD.

(vii) The parties shall respect the award in letter and spirit and the award shall be binding upon
the parties unless the parties invoke the provision of Section-34 of the Arbitration and
Conciliation Act, 1996 for challenging the award.

IN WITNESSES WHEREOF the parties have signed this Supplementary Agreement on the
date above mentioned in the presence of the Witness.

For and on behalf of Ministry For and on behalf of Contractor/Concessionaire

Signed by Signed by

K—X