Gurgaon: The public works department (PWD) has floated a Rs 52 lakh tender for landscaping and horticulture works at the Tower of Justice even as the project inches towards completion after missing several deadlines.The proposed work includes lawn development, plantation and the creation of landscaped green spaces across the seven-acre campus. According to tender documents, the selected agency will also be responsible for maintaining the landscaped areas for two years. The contract may be extended for two more years based on the upkeep work.“The e-tender for the landscaping work was published on June 22 and interested bidders can submit bids until 5 pm on July 7. The bids will be opened on July 8,” said a PWD official. No pre-bid meeting has been scheduled yet.The landscaping project comes at a time when the Tower of Justice remains under close scrutiny of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which has repeatedly expressed concern over delays in the project.In April, the court described the prolonged delay as a case of “administrative inefficiency”, issued notices to the Haryana govt and fixed May 15 as the deadline for completion. The state later sought and received an extension until June 19. The court earlier imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 on the PWD for failing to adhere to timelines.Now, the PWD is under pressure to make the new courtrooms operational by the end of the ongoing summer vacation.Conceived as a modern judicial complex to meet Gurgaon’s growing judicial infrastructure needs, Tower of Justice is being developed on a seven-acre site within the district court complex. The project comprises two blocks of eight and seven storeys and is designed to house 55 district and sessions courts.At present, Gurgaon has 45 courts dealing with nearly 65,000 pending cases. Judicial officers and members of the bar have long argued that additional courtrooms and modern infrastructure are essential to improve the efficiency of the justice delivery system and accommodate the city’s growing caseload.The project has also witnessed significant cost escalation over the years, with its estimated cost rising from Rs 113 crore to nearly Rs 295 crore.
