Infrastructure work across the city may come to a standstill. The civil contractors, who have taken up several projects from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), have threatened to stop work after the Dasara festival to protest against non-payment of their pending bills.
R.J. Srinivas, president of the BBMP Contractors’ Association, said the contractors would also not participate in tenders floated by the BBMP.
The pending bills for the last 15 months amount to Rs. 1,600 crore. He said many contractors were in dire straits and not even able to pay wages to their labourers.
At present, the contractors have taken up works worth Rs. 500 crore across the city. “If our pending bills are not cleared at least before Ayudha pooja, we will stop all works. We will consider seeking legal recourse by approaching the High Court,” he said.
Meanwhile, a nonplussed Mayor B.S. Satyanarayana told reporters that the BBMP was already in talks with the contractors’ association. The pending bills of August 2012 would be released soon. He said he had also directed the BBMP Commissioner to release the bills through a single-window system. “We understand their plight. We have urged them to give us time to clear dues,” he added.
