MEIL, headquartered in Hyderabad, acquired electoral bonds worth Rs 140 crore on April 11, 2023, just a month prior to securing the tender for the Rs 14,400-crore Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project, according to ECI data released on Thursday.
The data, Indian express reported, revealed that MEIL, established in 1989, emerged as one of the top purchasers of electoral bonds, with a total investment of Rs 821 crore.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) issued the tender for the project, involving the construction of two road tunnels under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in January of that year.
MEIL was the sole bidder whose technical proposal met the requirements.
L&T contested the rejection of its technical bid through two petitions: one concerning package 1, encompassing the construction of 5.75 km of the tunnel on the Borivali side, and the other regarding package 2, involving the construction of 6.09 km of the tunnel on the Thane side.
Despite being a successful bidder, L&T’s bid for package 2 was dismissed by the authorities.
In response, the MMRDA argued in court that L&T’s request to rectify its error after the financial bid was opened contravened norms and sought the dismissal of both petitions.