Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Contractors Association has sought an urgent meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over pending government bills estimated at around Rs 86,000 crore, alleging that prolonged delays in payments have pushed contractors across the state into severe financial distress.
Payments Pending Across Departments
The association claimed that contractors who have completed infrastructure and development works for various government departments are yet to receive their dues. It also alleged that repeated attempts to secure a meeting with the Chief Minister and the Chief Minister’s Office have not yielded any response. Contractors’ associations have previously raised the issue of large pending payments across departments including Public Works, Rural Development, Tribal Development and the Jal Jeevan Mission.
The contractors have demanded immediate release of the pending bills and sought a committee to investigate the reasons for the accumulation of dues and fix responsibility on officials found responsible. They have also sought financial assistance for families of contractors who allegedly died by suicide amid financial difficulties.
Aid For Contractors’ Families
Another major demand is that small works should not be clubbed into large tenders, as thousands of small contractors depend on such projects for their livelihood. The association has also demanded withdrawal of the system under which contractors are required to pay GST before receiving their bill payments.
The contractors further alleged that very few new works have been sanctioned during the past two years, affecting development activity as well as the livelihood of contractors and workers. They have also alleged political interference in the allocation of works and e-tendering processes and demanded an end to such interference.
GST Payment System Questioned
The association has sought extension of the MSME Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) to departments including Rural Development, Tribal Development and Jal Jeevan Mission to ease the financial pressure on contractors.
Association founder Milind Bhosale said contractors were facing an unprecedented crisis due to the delay in payments.
“CM office is not giving time or holding meetings with us. Eight contractors have committed suicide due to non-payment of bills. Many of them are young contractors and they are helpless. I receive many calls from contractors who cry and are in a mood to commit suicide. We even approached opposition leaders like Rohit Pawar and Raj Thackeray, but all went in vain. There is a limit to tolerance,” Bhosale said.
The association said around four crore people are directly or indirectly dependent on contractors and allied activities across Maharashtra and urged the government to intervene urgently to prevent the crisis from worsening.
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