Pune: Contractors across the state will stage protests outside district collector offices on Oct 19 over pending govt dues, contractor suicides and alleged harassment by political leaders and the administration, the Maharashtra State Contractors Federation and two other contractors’ organisations announced on Monday.The organisations alleged that contractors had been waiting for payments from the state govt for the past two years, leaving them in severe financial distress. They claimed that the mounting pressure arising from unpaid bills and the alleged high-handedness of officials had contributed to suicides among contractors.The Maharashtra State Contractors Federation, State Engineers Association and Maharashtra State Water Supply Contractors Association said they had repeatedly approached the chief minister, both deputy chief ministers and ministers from the public works, Jal Jeevan Mission, tribal development and rural development departments. They had also held protests, marches and hunger strikes, but govt had neither addressed their grievances nor convened a meeting, they alleged. “We are fed up with the delay and now with the state having declared drought, it is unlikely that we will get our dues,” said Milind Bhosale, president of the contractors’ association.The organisations further claimed that govt departments had undertaken work worth nearly four times their available funding over the past three to four years, despite inadequate budgetary provisions. They alleged that projects were sanctioned with electoral interests in mind and accused political leaders and administrative officials of benefiting from the system. “There have been a total of nine deaths until now, the most recent one reported from Amravati. We have already written to the Chief Minister and we are hoping that they address the issues at the earliest,” said a contractor association member.The statewide agitation will be held outside district collector offices at noon on Oct 19, the organisations said, warning govt that contractors would intensify their protest if their demands remained unaddressed.The announcement was made by federation president Milind Bhosale, State Engineers Association general secretary Rajesh Deshmukh, and water supply contractors’ association working president Anand Todkari and Sharad Patil.
