India's First ODR Portal Aims for Cost Effective and Timely Resolutions

1. India's First ODR Portal Aims for Cost Effective and Timely Resolutions Recently, India successfully launched the country’s first ever online portal for resolving disputes (ODR), and in doing so, became the first nation on the planet to develop and establish an online portal to resolve all varieties of disputes. Shri Akhilesh Srivastava, CGM (IT & Operations), NHAI, has played a crucial role in the successful implementation of this project. Having already developed e-Tendering and e-MB for automating the measurements of groundwork execution, his focus is now on ensuring the successful implantation of ODR in the construction industry. The ODR portal designed by him will provide prompt resolution at minimum costs by ensuring transparency through a panel of expert CIAC arbitrators. The Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu, recently addressed the media to officially announce the launch of ODR. Operating as a branch of Alternative Dispute Resolution, the introduction of ODR could boost and expedite the process of dispute resolution in the construction industry. Also known as Internet Electronic Dispute Resolution, ODR is considered as a viable solution for Internet-related disputes, especially the ones that are cross-country in nature and are excessively cost-ineffective. Its inauguration can go a long way in resolving these disputes, attracting more foreign investment on the way. The latest dispute resolving mechanism makes use of technology and software to solve disputes over the web which, otherwise, take months before the negotiating parties reach the stage of settlement. In the present scenario, various projects in the Construction Industry are facing interruptions through delays and cost overruns. According to the official figures reported by the Ministry of Statistics, more than 295 projects have faced delays in recent years. With the worth of these delayed projects exceeding INR 150 crore, the cost overruns have exceeded INR 1 lakh crore as well. These alarming numbers were taken into serious consideration, and the move for an online portal for dispute resolution is officially upon us. The ODR portal will function in line with many procedures, such as Automated Negotiation and Assisted Negotiation. The former is a method which is designed and structured to ascertain the economic settlements for claims in which liability is not challenged. In Assisted Negotiation, technology only assists the negotiation process between the litigants, instead of taking over the process entirely. While inaugurating the first National Conference on “Online Dispute Resolution Mechanism” organized by Construction Industry Arbitration Council (CIAC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Shri Venkaiah Naidu applauded the initiative and also confirmed that the CIAC has been in close touch with the United Nations Commission on matters relating to international trade and law. He further stated that domestic and international trade has stirred competition providing more opportunities. He has also praised the measures taken by Ministry of Law Justice to initiate Online Dispute Resolution through mediation, arbitration, and conciliation. #AkhileshSrivastava #NHAI #ODR #CIAC