Maharashtra contractors protest at collectorates over Rs 86,000 crore in unpaid bills

Contractors in Maharashtra announced a statewide agitation today. Bills worth about Rs 86,000 crore from various departments are pending, and contractors are holding large demonstrations at all district collector offices over the issue.

The Maharashtra State Contractors' Federation has taken a combative stance toward the government. The federation claims that nine contractors died by suicide because of the financial strain from the stalled payments. It wants the government to take an immediate decision on the matter.

Milind Bhosale, president of the State Government Contractors' Association, said the agitation is being held at all district collector offices in protest.

Contractors working for government departments such as Public Works and the Jal Jeevan Mission are owed about Rs 96,000 crore for the past three years, and nine contractors have taken their lives in the past ten months, the federation said.

The agitation is over payments of roughly Rs 86,000 crore to Rs 96,000 crore that have been held up by state government departments including Public Works, Rural Development, the Jal Jeevan Mission and Tribal Development. The federation also claims that in the past few months some contractors in the state took an extreme step because of financial distress.

The federation's first demand is that certified and verified pending bills be paid immediately. Its second is that the government's figures on bills stuck in different departments be made public.

The third demand is for an online dashboard and a permanent mechanism so that payments are made transparently and on time. The fourth is that the bills of small and medium contractors be cleared first.

Contractors are on the streets across the state today over these demands.