Bengaluru: Chief minister DK Shivakumar Tuesday sought three months’ time to clear long-pending bills worth over Rs 37,370 crore owed to contractors for works executed under various departments.Shivakumar assured the contractors that he would resolve their issues after holding talks soon with officials from the concerned department and the finance department.A delegation from the Karnataka State Contractors Association (KSCA) met Shivakumar and felicitated him at Vidhana Soudha. Later, the association submitted a memorandum seeking, among other demands, clearance of their long-pending bills.R Manjunath, president of the association, told TOI that the chief minister responded positively to their demands and sought three months’ time to clear the pending bills. He said the chief minister would first hold meetings with the secretaries of the concerned department and later with the finance department to facilitate clearance of the bills.“The chief minister assured us that arrangements would be made to clear the pending bills, including by raising loans if necessary,” said Manjunath.In the representation, the association reminded Shivakumar about the promise he made to contractors during the protest held at Freedom Park on March 6 this year. “You had promised that you would resolve our issues, including the clearance of pending bills,” it stated.The representation revealed that seven departments and the then Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (present GBA) owe over Rs 37,370 crore to contractors. According to the association, the water resources department has pending bills of over Rs 13,000 crore, PWD about Rs 8,370 crore, rural development and panchayat raj department about Rs 3,800 crore, minor irrigation department about Rs 3,000 crore, urban development department about Rs 2,000 crore, housing and wakf department about Rs 2,600 crore, and labour department about Rs 2,000 crore. The BBMP’s pending bills are around Rs 2,600 crore.The association also urged the govt to clear the pending GST and VAT reimbursements due to contractors. Among other demands, the contractors sought an extension of contractor licence validity from the current period to 10 years. They also requested the govt to release the 10% deposit deducted while clearing the bills five years ago.MLC post for contractors:The contractors also requested the chief minister to allot one Member of Legislative Council seat to contractors, similar to seats reserved for teachers, graduates and others.“Shivakumar, when he was the DCM, assured us that he would find a way to appoint or elect one contractor to the Legislative Council. It will help the govt understand the problems of contractors and also ensure their representation in the legislature. So, we raised the issue with him during the meeting, and he responded positively,” said Manjunath.
