Scores of contractors tried to lay siege to the Bruhat
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) head office here demanding the
payment of their pending bills. They later gheraoed Commissioner
Siddaiah, who promised to release around Rs. 25 crore in the next three
or four days.

The contractors tried to enter the main
building around noon but the security staff closed the gate. They did
not raise slogans, but argued with officials and security staff to allow
them to meet the Commissioner.

One of the contractors, on condition of anonymity, told
The Hindu
the BBMP had not cleared pending bills amounting to nearly Rs. 1,200
crore. The bills were partially cleared in November last, just a few
days before Deepavali.

“Contractors are in dire
straits because their pending bills have not been cleared. They are
borrowing heavily at high rates of interest. Some have not been able to
even pay their children’s school fees,” a member of the BBMP
Contractors’ Association said.

Bribes and brokers

Another
alleged that the BBMP’s Chief Accounts Officer’s (CAO) office was
demanding bribes to sanction the special Letter of Credit (LoC), which
is usually issued on seniority basis (i.e., the works that have been
completed first).

“There are many brokers in the BBMP
office who demand money from the contractors and get them the special
LoC. It is only through these brokers that the contractors can get the
LoC,” he claimed.

Mr. Siddaiah, who met the
contractors and discussed their issues with them, conceded that pending
bills had not been cleared for nearly four months now.

He
assured the contractors to direct the officials concerned to
immediately refund the FSD (Further Security Deposit) and EMD (Earnest
Money Deposit) within three or four days.

“The
contractors would have paid the EMD at the time of tender but may not
have bagged it. The deposit, which is theirs, will be refunded shortly,”
he said.

He also said the system of issuing special
LoC had been “dispensed with completely”. “I have also directed the CAO
to submit a note on the number of special LoC that have been issued and
the amount for the same.”

He added that he had instructed the officials to release payment only on seniority basis.