The Times of India 14.10.2010
Settle our bills contractors tell BBMP
BANGALORE: It was chaos of a different kind at the BBMP headquarters on Thursday. Hundreds of BBMP contractors protested against the Palike on its failure to clear their bills for nearly nine months now.
Agitated by the absence of BBMP commissioner Siddaiah and mayor S K Nataraj, the contractors staged a dharna in front of the commissioner’s chamber, which ended in a scuffle between police and the contractors inside the BBMP office.
“Over Rs6,000 crore is due for payment according to the contractors and a large chunk of this amount, which is over Rs3,500, is stuck in the work code scam. We are asking them for payments for the work we have done. besides the pending payment of bills for five months, they have not been making the regular payments too for the past five months. As per the agreement between contractors, nationalized banks and BBMP, contractors must get their cash on the 10th of every month. But now, BBMP is not honouring this agreement. No money is being released through the general letter of credit also. We have been protesting for the past three months, but there has no response from BBMP. We are frustrated,” said R J Srinivas, president of the contractors’ association.
What angered them the most was even after hours of waiting to meet Siddaiah and Nataraj, only special commissioner K R Niranjana addressed them and stated that Rs 220 crore would be released immediately. “Releasing money during Ayudha Pooja has been a norm and many labour class families are depending on that amount,” contractors said.
Following Sanjana Singh’s case in which a weakened sub-standard wall collapsed, BBMP has decided to inspect every work before clearing bills. This was opposed by several contractors. “Inspection must be done from the time work begins and not during the fag end. Most of the works were done nine months ago. There are possibilities that some Bescom, BWSSB and BSNL works were carried out in the same locations aftre we completed our work and roads and other places might have been dug up for that. How can the inspection prove the quality of our work after nine months? This should not be a criteria to clear bills,” they said.
WHAT BBMP SAYS:
BBMP’s special commissioner K R Niranjana has said that the Rs 220 crore payment for the month of May will be released immediately. However, this will not ebnefit most contractors as only some of them may have worked during that period. Hence, many contractors may not receive the payment by Ayudha Puja, which is an important festival for the labour class.
Niranjana said bills for April and May 2010, along with the December 2009 bills, will be cleared immediately. “We will conduct an inspection of all other works before clearing the bills. Payment of pending bills of over Rs 2,000 crore is at various stages and will be cleared at the earliest,” Niranjana said.
