The Kerala Government Contractors’ Association has threatened not to undertake Sabarimala road repair and maintenance work, if the government failed to disburse pending arrears.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, association State president Varghese Kannampallil said the promise made by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy that the pending areas to the tune of Rs.400 crore for the months of November and December, 2013, would be disbursed before Onam remained unfulfilled.
Arrears mountingHe said the arrears were on the rise and it crossed Rs.2,250 crore as on September 16. He said the contractors were forced to take a decision not to undertake any work, except pothole filling, in the prevailing situation.
He said road repair and maintenance work to the tune of Rs.76 crore had to be executed before the beginning of the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrim season in mid-November. However, the government was yet to give administrative sanction for the same.
The contractors had not yet received the payment for the road repair work done prior to the previous Sabarimala pilgrim season and both the Finance Department and the Public Works Department were equally responsible for this.
Mr. Kannampallil alleged that there was not any budget allocation for the Sabarimala road repair work and the contractors had been carrying out only the pothole filling work. It was sad that the government could not even facilitate the supply of tar. Bharath Petroleum Company Limited had stopped tar supply owing to pending arrears to the tune of Rs.96 crore, he alleged.
N.P. Gopalakrishnan and K. Baburaj, association district leaders, were present.
