As the Congress government has started clearing pending bills of contractors for the last five-and-a-half months, the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association office-bearers on Saturday met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and complained to him about “harassment” faced by contractors at the hands of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner and the BBMP Chief Engineer.
Speaking to reporters on the outcome of the meeting with the Chief Minister, association president D. Kempanna said, “We have complained about the bad conduct of the BBMP officials. We have complained to the Chief Minister that the BBMP Commissioner and the Chief Engineer harass contractors seeking money.”
Mr. Siddaramaiah assured the association that he would summon BBMP officials and speak to them on the matter, Mr. Kempanna said.
30-day deadline
On Friday, the association criticised the State government for non-clearance of pending bills and set a 30-day deadline to clear all of them, failing which they would launch a protest across Karnataka.
The government has to release an estimated ₹25,000 crore pending dues to contractors for works taken up across various departments down the years. The government must stop taking up new works without clearing old dues, Mr. Kempanna said.
The association president said the Chief Minister explained about the financial constraints faced by the government. “Mr. Siddaramaiah told us that he would clear the pending bills as early as possible. The Chief Minister said he would call a meeting of the officials soon to discuss all issues. Mr. Siddaramaiah also said he would be ready to hear their grievances, if any,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah also said that he would release the amount and look into the association’s demands if they were genuine, Mr. Kempanna said.
Three meetings
The association members have met the Chief Minister and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar thrice by now and the meeting did not result in clearing the pending dues. He alleged that money was being released only to certain contractors who went with recommendation letters.
The association had made the 40% commission charge against the previous BJP government during the election campaign to the State Legislative Assembly and the charge is cited as one of the reasons for the defeat of the saffron party in the polls. The Congress government has set up the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission to look into the “40% commission” allegations made by the association.
