• Contractors accuse Congress members of charging higher commission than the BJP
• Rs. 37,000 crore pending; contractors plan Statewide protest on Mar. 5

Mysore/Mysuru: The Karnataka State Contractors’ Association has alleged that they were forced to pay a higher commission, or percentage, than the previous BJP Government for clearing pending bills.

Speaking to media persons at a private hotel in the city yesterday, Association President R. Manjunath said that when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was Leader of the Opposition, he had promised that no payment or commission would be taken for releasing bills or issuing NoCs.

However, he alleged that for the release of bills pending over the last three years, they are being charged double the commission compared to the previous BJP Government.

Rs. 37,000 crore pending bills

Manjunath said, the State Govt. had not been helpful to contractors, many of whom were forced to take loans and pledge gold to continue work. With no other option left, the Assn. has decided to launch a protest demanding payment of pending dues.

Accordingly, the Association will halt all ongoing works across the State and stage a protest at Freedom Park on Mar. 5, demanding the release of the pending Rs. 37,000 crore. He added that the protest would continue until the Government responds positively to their demands.

Stating that around 30,000 contractors from across Karnataka are expected to participate, Manjunath said the Association has about 1.30 lakh members. Several letters had been submitted to the Chief Minister and other Ministers seeking the release of pending bills, but there had been no response.

He further alleged that although the Government has released some pending payments across Departments, only about 10-15% of the dues had been cleared, which has worsened the contractors’ financial difficulties.

“The Chief Minister has completely neglected us and has not invited us for even a single meeting in the past two-and-a-half years,” he said.

Manjunath also noted that contractors were facing additional challenges, including issues related to obtaining licences from the Department of Mines and Geology, along with fines and GST. “Despite repeatedly bringing these concerns to the CM’s notice, no effort has been made to resolve them,” he added.

Package system  allegation

The Association also alleged that CM Siddaramaiah, who had earlier opposed the package system as Leader of the Opposition, has continued the same system in power. Manjunath claimed that influential contractors are able to secure approvals for contracts at the Cabinet level, leaving others without recourse.

He further alleged that several middlemen within the Govt., some of whom are small-time contractors, use their influence to get work sanctioned by summoning chief engineers of various Departments to their offices.

Association Vice-Presidents C.K. Krishna, Gurusiddappa and Krishnegowda, Treasurer Nagaraju, District President A.G. Suresh and others were present at the press conference.