Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari, conducted a high-level meeting with the National Highway Builders Federation (NHBF) to address their concerns. It was decided to implement the Vivad Se Vishwas II Scheme in a campaign mode with the aim of settling all eligible claims. The NHBF was urged to ensure that all contractors file their claims by October 25, 2023.
The Vivad se Vishwas II (Contractual Disputes) Scheme, under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, outlines detailed procedures and modalities to determine the settlement amount offered to contractors. If the claim amount is Rs. 500 crore or less, procuring entities must accept the claim if it complies with the guidelines. In cases where the claim exceeds Rs. 500 crore, the decision not to accept the settlement request should be made after recording reasons with the approval of the competent authority. Claims are to be submitted by October 31, 2023, through the GeM portal.
The existing guideline applies to disputes where the court/tribunal’s award is for a monetary value, and the arbitration award is issued up to January 31, 2023, or a court award is passed up to April 30, 2023.
Secretary for the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Shri Anurag Jain, highlighted that the Vivad se Vishwas II Scheme has been designed to clear the backlog of old litigation cases. He emphasized that the scheme will help release locked working capital and stimulate fresh investments.