Saturday, January 28 2006 16:59 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The empowered Group of Ministers on Delhi and Mumbai airport modernisation will meet on January 30 to discuss saving the projects any potential legal hassles, after it was tossed from one committee to another over criteria for selecting bidders.

The eGoM, headed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, will study the legal implications of going ahead with awarding contracts for the Rs 5,400 crore projects at Delhi and Mumbai airports amid reports that virtually every bidder is seeking lawyers' opinion.

However, the eGoM would strive to find a way to meet the January 31 deadline (for awarding contracts) and there is a distinct possibility of it deciding to open the financial bids on Tuesday for the purpose.

In its earlier meeting, the eGoM is believed to have decided to broadbase the competition by lowering the technical eligibility criteria from 80 per cent, a mark which only GMR-Fraport combine had cleared.

Ahead of Monday's meeting, the Committee of Secretaries is also understood to have favoured giving one project to GMR-led consortium, after asking it to match the highest financial bid.

In the new mechanism, possibly only Essel group would not be able to qualify, sources said.

However, any change in qualification norms from the clauses stipulated in the Request for Proposals (RFP) document may not be sustainable, points sources close to a bidder, adding that chances that one of the bidders may end up going to the courts.