Contractors’ body meets Siddaramaiah over pending dues

D Kempanna said that the contractors are worried about their pending payments, and the association has urged the chief minister to clear all the dues which have no irregularities.

The Karnataka State Contractors’ Association on Friday met chief minister Siddaramaiah and appealed to the state government to clear the pending bills, people familiar with the matter said.

Karnataka State Contractors’ Association on Friday met CM Siddaramaiah and appealed to government to clear pending bills (HT Photo)

The association, headed by president D Kempanna, submitted a memorandum regarding the pending payments after the newly-elected Congress government directed heads of various departments in the state to immediately halt all development projects initiated by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and withhold the release of funds for the work executed with immediate effect. A circular to this effect was issued by the state finance secretary on May 26.

“After taking oath as the chief minister, circulars were issued to stop the works of various departments, corporations and boards including irrigation, public utility, rural development, etc. The circular also clearly states not to release the balance of completed works. Due to this, the contractors will suffer financial loss along with severe hardship,”said the memorandum submitted on Friday.

The association said that stopping the ongoing works is “not a good development in the interest of the state. “There should be no hindrance to continue the ongoing works and release of the amount of completed works,” said the memorandum.

“Therefore, we request immediate withdrawal of the circular issued in this regard. We again request the state government to inform all the concerned departments in this regard. A meeting should be called as soon as possible to discuss the problems of the contractors and formulate a solution,” it said.

Meanwhile, D Kempanna said that the contractors are worried about their pending payments, and the association has urged the chief minister to clear all the dues which have no irregularities.

Last year in April, the 40% commission row had erupted after the death of Belagavi-based contractor, who had accused BJP leader and former minister KS Eshwarappa of seeking a 40% commission for a government project. However, a police investigation gave a clean chit to Eshwarappa on charges of abetting the suicide.

Kempanna had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021 alleging that contractors had to shell out 40% commission in public projects, a charge which the Congress made a key campaign issue to target the ruling BJP, which had rubbished the allegation.

In August last year, the association, for the first time, named and accused state cabinet minister Munirathna of allegedly demanding bribes from contractors. Kempanna had accused Munirathna of instructing an executive engineer to collect money from contractors and threatening him with suspension from duty if he failed to comply.

On the eve of the assembly elections, the association had also appealed to the people to cast their vote in accordance with their conscience, while reminding them that corruption has reached frightening levels in the state.

On Thursday, the BBMP contractors’ association urged the state government to clear pending bills worth ₹2,500 crore. The association met BBMP commissioner Tushar Girinath in Bengaluru, and submitted a memorandum regarding the payments. It has given a deadline of June 5 to make the payments and threatened to stop all works if their demands are not met.