Taking exception to the delay in clearing pending bills, the North Karnataka Civil Contractors Association has warned the State government that it will stop works related to government projects if the government continues to delay payment of pending bills.
Addressing presspersons in Dharwad on Monday, president of North Karnataka Civil Contractors Association Subhash Patil said that they are hoping that the new government will protect the interest of the civil contractors by paying them their unpaid dues.
However, the new government led by the Congress too has adopted the same delaying tactics of the previous BJP government, he said.
“Even after repeated appeals to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, there has been undue delay in clearing the bills. At present, there are unpaid bills to the tune of ₹7,000 crore towards civil contractors of North Karnataka,” he said.
Mr. Patil said that as there has been no positive response from the State government to their repeated pleas, they have decided to launch an indefinite protest starting July 20. “And, if there is no response from the government even after a week of the proposed protest and if the bills remain uncleared, then we will stop the ongoing works,” he warned.
Mr. Patil said that at present works worth ₹20,000 crore are under progress in various districts of North Karnataka and the government’s decision to stop some of the works initiated during the previous regime is not a wise one.
He said that it is wrong to punish all for the mistake of a few. The government could order third party inspection and inquire into allegations of corruption and take action based on the reports, he said.
To a query, Mr. Patil maintained that the corruption level during the previous regime was not as high as 40% as claimed by State president of Karnataka State Contractors Association D. Kempanna. Mr. Kempanna had later clarified to North Karnataka contractors that 40% commission charge pertained to BBMP, he recalled.
To another query, he said that irrespective of the political party ruling the State, corruption is part of the system with only varying percentages of commission.
