KAVACH – Race against time to extend undue favours

Admin

Approval Lapses, Conditions Unmet, Yet Status Intact: Questions Mount over RDSO’s Silence

M/s #HBLEngineering Ltd., Hyderabad, received conditional approval from #RDSO on 13 May 2025 for supply of #KAVACH, with eight mandatory compliances to be completed within 180 days. The #approval letter clearly stated that failure to meet these conditions within the stipulated period would automatically result in withdrawal of the approval.

The relevant clause—Terms & Conditions—Para-26(i) reads:

“The Functional Testing witnessed by the RDSO representative shall be started within 60 days of this Approval, and in no case shall the compliance of all the observations mentioned in the #FunctionalTest be pending after 180 days of generic Approval. In such a case, the approval of the firm will be deemed withdrawn after 180 days from the day of this approval without any further notice.”

The 180-day period expired on 12 November 2025, yet several compliances reportedly remain pending. Going strictly by the terms of approval, the firm’s status should stand automatically withdrawn.

However, despite the lapse, the firm’s name continues to appear in the RDSO Vendor Directory and the #UVAM portal. This retention, far from being an administrative delay, raises serious questions—particularly because #CLW opened a major tender on 14 November 2025, where approval status carries substantial commercial advantage, and that’s why RDSO is maintaining deliberate inaction. In the meanwhile, Kavach Tenders being published & finalised by PU’s on top priority.

This situation brings a series of pointed questions to the forefront:

  • Why is Railway Board in a hurry to finalize so big tenders when the firms already possess substantial orders in hand?
  • Is this being done to extend favours as the approvals of the firms are to be withdrawn on completion of 180 days as per the conditions specified in the approval letters?
  • Why #HBL is still being treated as “approved sources” despite a clear clause calling for automatic deemed withdrawal of approval?
  • Why are #CLW, #ICF & #BLW proceeding with big tenders in haste?

These matters require immediate attention from both #RailwayBoard and #RDSO so that undue favour are not being extended. The approval process—and its conditions—cannot be treated as a mere formality. If the clause, “approval of the firm deemed to be withdrawn…” forms part of the approval letter, it must be enforced, or else omitted altogether. Needless to mention, one cannot have the cake on hand and eat it too. The language is unambiguous. The implications are obvious. What remains unclear is the continued silence—and what it suggests… To be continued…