“The Model Code of Conduct is in force, so we cannot make any payments,” is the common reply that every contractor gets from the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) office.
The VMC is expected to pay Rs. 13.4 crore to contractors, who have executed various projects under the Jawharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). This apart, the Corporation is yet to prepare bills for another Rs. 10 crore.
Municipal Contractors’ Association vice-president A. Ankeswara Rao says the Corporation has “stopped payment” of bills ever since the Model Code of Conduct came into force. “First, it was the Municipal Elections. Then, it was the ZPTC and MPTC elections. Though the ZPTC and MPTC elections code did not apply to the city, officials cited it as a reason for stopping payment,” he adds.
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Municipal Commissioner C. Hari Kiran had promised to pay Rs. 50 lakh a month to contractors last year. Had the promise been kept, the Corporation would have cleared Rs. 2.5 crore so far since January, contractors say.
Even if some contractor attempts to pursue the matter, officials turn to the same rhetoric, saying any attempt to make payment could lead to circumventing the Model Code, and that the ECI will view such steps very seriously.
If sources are to be believed, the Model Code does not come in the way of and cannot act as a hindrance to making payment. The Election Commission of India, in its guidelines, has stated that “there shall be no bar on the release of payment for completed work(s) subject to the full satisfaction of the officials concerned.”
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Apparently, the Corporation officials are just citing a wrong pretext in delaying payment. In fact, the reason is nothing but paucity of funds.
“The Code will be in vogue till May 16. Till then, we have to wait, as there is no other go,” lament contractors.