NEW DELHI: In a sharp rebuke to the highways authority, the road transport and highways ministry has directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to sort out the buy-back of the contentious Delhi-Gurgaon expresswayproject through the legal process on its own instead of involving the government in a contractual dispute.”It is now for the NHAI to pursue the matter through the legal process as buying back the concession is the first step before other options can be examined,” said a letter sent by the ministry on Thursday to NHAI chairman RP Singh.

The ministry sent the letter, a copy of which was reviewed by ET, after the authority recently wrote to the government asking it to buy back the concession instead of getting into litigation.

Suspecting criminal liability on part of the concessionaire, the ministry has also requested the Central Vigilance Committee to investigate and refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation if a criminal case is made. “There is no point in referring the matter to the government as it is essentially a contractual dispute which is to be resolved and pursued to its logical end by the NHAI,” the letter said.

The NHAI had on Wednesday stated that the case, which is in Delhi High Court, was being prolonged on “one pretext or the other” while the lenders and the concessionaire, DGSCL, were raising extraneous issues and diverting the main issue. It also called upon the Haryana government for “finding fault with NHAI” instead of taking over by paying Rs 335 crore termination payment under political force majeure (unforeseeable circumstances).

But the ministry believes this would be more expensive than if they took over the project at a cost of Rs 130 crore. “It is patently clear that the government of Haryana is not pursuing its earlier intention of buying out this project. The only logical option therefore before the NHAI is to buy-back the concession as provided for in the agreement, at the earliest,” the ministry said in the letter.

The 28-km Delhi-Gurgaon expressway project has been embroiled in controversy over various issues including substandard service provided to commuters. The NHAI served the concessionaire with a termination notice, which was challenged in the Delhi High Court. The ministry has sought the assistance of the Attorney General to represent the NHAI in the court.

“The lenders, led by IDFC, extended Rs 1,600 crore to the concessionaire although this was not approved by NHAI. The concessionaire is not sharing details of the escrow account from where they have withdrawn Rs 676 crore by way of an inter-corporate deposit. We have asked the Enforcement Directorate to inquire if this contravenes any law of the land,” said a ministry official.