Cuttack: Implementation of the civic body's ambitious Integrated Solid Waste Management Project, 2016, has hit a roadblock again.

Mired in legal tangle, the civic body had not been able to complete the tender process in its first attempt to implement the project.

After initially issuing a stay order on finalisation of the tender in September, 2016, Orissa High Court had quashed provisions relating to the financial eligibility criteria for the participating bidders and directed the Cuttack Municipal Corporation to invite fresh tenders on July 18, 2017.

Subsequently, the CMC had invited fresh bids for the project in September 2017.

But an order of Orissa High Court has again put the spanner in the process of awarding the contract to the lowest bidder for the project.

The division bench of Justice S.C. Parija and Justice Debabrata Dash on Monday restrained the authorities from taking final decision on the outcome of the tender process.

The municipal corporation had made available online bid documents, which was followed by a pre-bid meeting in which five firms took part.

But, when the technical bids were opened, expression of interest were found to have been submitted by three parties. Financial bids of the two firms were opened as one of them - Jagruti Welfare Organisation (Bhubaneswar) was disqualified during evaluation of technical bids.

Metro Waste Handling Private Limited (New Delhi) emerged the lowest bidder for implementing the project. The municipal council had approved the tender finalisation process on December 15.

The court issued the interim stay order on the finalisation of tender after Jagruti Welfare Organisation (Bhubaneswar) challenged the civic body's decision disqualifying it in the technical bid stage.

Municipal commissioner Bikash Ranjan Mohapatra on Tuesday said: "As things stand today, the lowest bid along with outcome of a post-bid negotiation for the five-year solid waste management project contract is pending before the government for approval."

The payment to private party is made on the basis of per tonnes of garbage collected and disposed per day. Metro Waste Handling Private Limited, New Delhi, had emerged as the lowest bidder by quoting charges of Rs 6,309 per tonne. After post-bid negotiation the company had agreed to charge Rs 5,700 per tonne.