Mysore/Mysuru: With less than a month to go for Dasara-2020, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Civil Contractors Association has warned of stopping all works from Oct. 3 if pending bills are not cleared.

In a press release, Association President Chandrashekariah said that despite repeated pleas to the MCC to clear their long pending bills, the authorities have turned a deaf ear.

With bills pending for long, the contractors are put to a lot of hardship and are unable to carry out other works. As they are unable to repay loans because of long delay in payment, the Banks too are not advancing fresh loans for executing works in hand. In such a situation, the contractors have no option other than stopping works. 

The MCC has to pay Rs. 130 crore dues to the contractors since 2017 and with no payment of bills in sight, the contractors are forced to stop works from Oct. 3, the release said.

Asphalt Contractors

Charging the Government of non-payment of long pending bills, civil contractors, who  finished works of different Departments on time while also maintaining quality, have urged the Government to clear their bills and thus save them from ruin.

The Mysuru Circle Asphalt Contractors Association President Chandrashekaraiah said that though civil contractors have finished works of PWD Departments in Mysuru, Mandya, Hunsur and Chamarajanagar and also road asphalting, drainage, footpath and other civic works of many Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the Government is yet to pay the bills for over three years, which has put the contractors into a lot of hardship. 

Maintaining that contractors have invested huge sums of money on their infrastructure for executing the works, he said that they are facing a deep financial crisis because of non-payment of bills and their troubles has only been compounded by the fact that no works are awarded to them for the past six months due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Urging for extending license renewal at least for a year on account of Corona crisis, Chandrashekaraiah wanted the Government to clear all pending bills latest by March, 2021. He also urged the Govt. to credit Rs. 5 lakh to the account of Class-1 Contractors and Rs. 2 lakh to other class of contractors, out of the Contractor Benevolent Funds, for which the Govt. has been deducting 0.1 percent from the bills of contractors. He further appealed the Government to waive off interest on all contractor loans till March, 2021.