Bengaluru: Contractors threaten to launch agitation if pending bills not cleared

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Contractors Association has threatened to launch an agitation if the government fails to address their various issues within 15 days.

President of the association Kempanna said that the government imposed several restrictions on transactions for a few months following the Covid-19 pandemic pushing over one lakh registered contractors in the State into serious financial problems.

He said that besides pending bills due to contractors, tenders called under the package system has been cancelled several times. Appeals made to the Chief Minister, ministers concerned, and officials have been in vain, he added. Kempanna alleged that some officials did not participate in the tender process and imposed restrictions under political influence.

"In addition, after the contractors participated in the tender bid, they were pressured to withdraw tenders. Due to lack of transparency in the process, taxpayers' money is being squandered," he alleged. He said that bills were pending to be paid to contractors by various department of the government.

"The pending bills should be paid along with interest for delay based on seniority in the execution of works," Kempanna added.