MUMBAI, Oct. 15 -- The Bombay High Court on Wednesday lifted a stay order imposed a decade ago and allowed the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) to invite fresh bids for the construction of the long-stalled Kalu Dam project in Thane district. The dam, proposed for Murbad, is expected to provide an additional 406.55 million cubic metres of water to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The project, approved in 2009, has been held up due to prolonged legal battles over the submergence of forest land, tribal rehabilitation and a multi-crore irrigation scam involving the original contractor. The Maharashtra government had approved the project in July 2009 and appointed MMRDA as the nodal agency. In May 2010, the construction contract was awarded to FA Enterprises. However, work on the dam never began amid allegations that FA Enterprises had manipulated the bidding process using forged documents and dummy companies. In September 2016, amid allegations of widespread corruption in irrigation contracts, the state government cancelled the contracts, including the one awarded to FA Enterprises for the Kalu Dam. KIDC subsequently terminated the firm's contract, prompting it to approach the high court. In December 2016, the court restrained KIDC from awarding the project to another contractor while the dispute remained pending. Seeking to lift the stay, KIDC told the court that the prolonged delay had pushed up the project's estimated cost to around Rs.4,010 crore. It argued that the dam was crucial to meeting the MMR's growing water needs. Accepting KIDC's request, the high court lifted the stay, allowing the corporation to begin a fresh tendering process....