Metro blacklists consultants for fatal Zamrudpur mishap

“After detailed examination of the process of design,contract,inquiry report findings,memorandum of charges and replies furnished by Arch Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd,DMRC has decided to blacklist the company,” Delhi Metro spokesperson Anuj Dayal said. “The organisation and its sister concerns/partners having worked to the detriment of the interest of DMRC… shall be blacklisted for a period of minimum five years.”

DMRC officials said other engineering organisations dealing in similar design works will be informed of the decision soon. The consultants have also been removed from all running contracts,they said.

The legal reply from the contractors,Gammon India,is also pending with DMRC and a decision on it is yet to be taken.

Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan had earlier said that a team of three directors will look into Gammon’s reply to the showcause notice sent to the firm. Any decision will be taken thereafter.

Gammon officials today told Newsline that it has been well over three weeks that the firm has sent its reply but is yet to receive an official communication from DMRC. “A legal reply to the DMRC’s showcause notice was sent in the last week of August explaining our side. We are yet to receive any official communication from DMRC,” a senior official of Gammon India said.