Bengaluru: Union Minister for Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday called upon contractors to stop bidding for public works for a year protesting the non-release of their pending bills by the state government.
Reacting to the plight of the state's contractors on account of inordinate delay on the part of the state government in clearing their pending bills, Kumaraswamy said he would request all contractors not to take up any government work for a year. "If you want your problems to be solved, then don't take up any government work. Let them bring contractors from Andhra Pradesh or other states. This is the only way you can get your issues addressed," he said.
As per the Karnataka State Contractors Association, the state government owes a whopping Rs 32,000 crore to contractors towards works they carried out in different departments. Association President Jagannath Shegaji last week wrote letters to seven ministers including Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar giving them a seven-day deadline to take definite steps to clear their dues. He also threatened to go on strike if their demand is not met.
The state government however sought to blame the previous BJP regime for the pending bills saying that the latter approved works and issued work orders to contractors without making financial provisions. "The previous BJP government is the reason for these pending bills. They indiscriminately awarded tenders without the necessary fundings. But our government is with the contractors and we have been clearing pending bills part by part," Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in Delhi on Wednesday.
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