Contractors who executed government works staged a protest in front of the R&B office here on April 11, demanding the State Government to clear their pending bills immediately.
Stating that bills to the tune of ₹5,000 crore were pending, the contractors issued an ultimatum that they would stop the works from May 1 if the bills were not cleared at once. They also urged Governor S. Abdul Nazeer to intervene and see that the contractors were bailed out of the distress.
The contractors under the aegis of the Building Association of India and the State of Andhra Pradesh Building Contractors Association staged the protest. Later, they submitted a memorandum to officials at the R&B department.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Buchirayudu, a contractor, alleged that the government was making payments by adopting a ‘pick and choose policy’. There was no transparency in the payments being made. Earlier, it used to be a first-in-first-out policy, he said.
Prasad, another contractor, said that ‘Nadu-Nedu’ bills worth ₹400 crore were pending. Around 200 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) can be completed if the bills were cleared but there was no such initiative from the government’s side, he said.
Ajay Kumar Ghosh and Mani said that the contractors expected the government would clear the bills on the last day of the financial year, i.e. March 31. “Our hopes were dashed. March 31 will remain a black day for contractors. Small contractors are facing umpteen hardships as debtors are mounting pressure to clear the loans. They have to pay the interest on the loans borrowed to execute the works,” he said.
Chandrasekhar said that the Governor was requested to intervene and see that the problem was addressed.
The contractors raised slogans, demanding the government to regularise seigniorage charges and sand policy.