Government contractors have warned that they would put on hold all maintenance work indefinitely from January 29 to press for payment of arrears for works that had been done since 2000. Spokesmen for Kerala Water Authority-committee of the Kerala Government Contractors Federation (KWA- KGCF) while announcing the decision as a show of protest said Rs.4 crore was due to contractors in Kozhikode division alone.
P. Nagaratnan, State general secretary, Kerala Government Contractors Federation (KGCF), and K Shajan, president KWA-KGCF, told mediapersons on Monday that the contractors had already stopped accepting running contract system for carrying out maintenance work for Kerala Water Authority (KWA). This was because payment under running contract system was based on old rates and did not have provision for cost escalation. For drought relief work carried out by contractors, an amount of Rs.5 crore was due as arrears, they said and blamed the indifference of the KWA authorities for the delay in getting their bills cleared. The contractors would stage a dharna in front of the Kozhikode Divisional Office of the KWA on Wednesday.
