BBMP pays contractors after their protest

The contractors on Wednesday staged a protest outside the office of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). R G Srinivas, President of the BBMP Contractors’ Association, said the BBMP owed more than Rs 2,000 crore to the contractors. He added that they had not been paid since more than nine months.

Further, he said the contractors had been running from pillar to post to get their bills cleared but the BBMP commissioner seemed least bothered about it.

Acting on their grievances, the BBMP released around Rs 230 crore through the Hundi system. Srinivas said he hoped things would change for better and the contractors were paid at time.

Earlier, the contractors had threatened to stop all the ongoing works if their dues were not settled before Ayudha Pooja, which falls on October 16.

Srinivas said the commissioner was not using the Hundi system to clear the bills and thus the contractors were finding it difficult to continue working under these circumstances.

He said earlier the BBMP used to pay them Rs 100200 crore before the 10th of every month but that practice had been discontinued now.

Also, he said there was no point in the commissioner inspecting the works more than an year after they were completed. He clarified that during the year, rain or other developmental works might cause the damage, for which the commissioner could blame the contractor.