After stir, state clears ₹5K cr in contractors’ dues; promises ₹2K cr before Diwali

MUMBAI: The state government has allocated ₹5,000 crore to clear the pending dues of contractors who completed tasks for the Public Works Department (PWD)

MUMBAI: The state government has allocated ₹5,000 crore to clear the pending dues of contractors who completed tasks for the Public Works Department (PWD). Furthermore, it has assured that an additional ₹700 crore for building repairs and around ₹1,320 crore for the Jal Jeevan Mission and tribal development department will be allocated before Diwali.

The move to clear the partial arrears of over ₹86,000 crore comes after the Maharashtra State Contractors Association (MSCA) kicked off a ‘Call the CM and deputy CMs’ on October 30 to push for payments for completed tasks that have been pending for a few years. On that day phone lines at the chief minister’s office and the offices of the deputy chief ministers were jammed with incessant calls from contractors across the state demanding their pending payments.

On Wednesday, the public works minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale met the contractors assuring them that the government had started releasing pending dues from the ₹5000 crore allocated to the department. He added that the government had released around ₹9700 crore in the current fiscal.

In separate meetings on Wednesday, tribal development minister Ashok Uike assured the contractors’ delegation that ₹560 crore will be cleared before Diwali, while the water supply and sanitation minister Gulabrao Patil assured contractors that the finance department will soon sign off on the proposal to clear ₹760 crore in pending dues.

“Of the ₹17,500 crore that the PWD owes to contractors, particularly those handling road and bridge works, ₹5,000 crore was recently released. Now the government has assured that it will additionally release ₹700 crore for building repair works. Two other ministers also promised us that funds totalling ₹1320 crore will be released. This will offer some relief to contractors,” said Milind Bhosale, head of MSCA.