Bengaluru: Members of the Karnataka State Contractors Association have warned that they will go on strike if the state government fails to convene a meeting with them in seven days and takes steps to clear their pending bills.
Association President Jagannath Shegaji has written letters to seven ministers in this regard expressing his anguish over the continued negligence of the state government towards contractors' problems.
The ministers whom the association wrote to include Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge, Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa, Minority Development and Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao, Minor Irrigation Minister N S Boseraju and Minister for Municipal Administration Raheem Khan.
In the letter, the contractors said that despite repeated pleas and requests, neither the ministers nor the officials have been responding to their long pending demands. "Whenever we meet officials, they ask contractors to meet the ministers concerned. On the other hand, ministers instruct officials to clear pending bills overlooking seniority causing a great deal of injustice to contractors," Shegaji said.
The Association also reminded the ministers about their fight against the previous BJP regime. "You know everything about our fight (against the previous regime). But still, you seem to have no courtesy to call a meeting and resolve our issues. We had never imagined that you would neglect us (contractors) like this," Shegaji said in the letter.
Minister Priyank Kharge said that the state government would address contractors' issues on priority. “The state government is sympathetic towards their demands unlike the previous BJP government. Their issues will be addressed soon,” he added.
