Contractors threaten to halt all works if Rs 33,000 crore dues not cleared by Dec 1
The Karnataka State Contractors’ Association has set a December 1 deadline for the state government to clear pending bills amounting to ₹33,000 crore. If payments are not made by then, the association warned it will suspend all ongoing works across departments. Association president D. Manjunath said they had met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and submitted a memorandum seeking immediate release of funds. “We have waited for two and a half years. The Chief Minister assured us that the issue would be resolved soon. We will wait another 44 days. If nothing happens, we will seek the intervention of Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, and AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal,” he stated.
The association expressed deep frustration, saying that during festivals like Gauri-Ganesha, Dasara, and Deepavali, contractors were harassed by workers demanding wages and bonuses, forcing many to switch off their phones. “If the issue isn’t resolved, we will approach the Governor in December,” Manjunath warned.
He also alleged that corruption continues unabated. “I never said there is no corruption in this Congress government. Commission rates have doubled. I haven’t mentioned 40%, 60%, or 80%, but the reality is alarming. Small contractors are being pushed to the brink of suicide. We will expose all details in December,” he added.
Manjunath said they had met the Chief Minister five to six times and held discussions with several cabinet ministers, yet the issue remained unresolved. “The PWD alone owes ₹9,000 crore, irrigation ₹12,000 crore, and other departments the rest — totaling ₹33,000 crore. Except for the PWD, no department has cleared dues despite repeated appeals,” he said.
He added that one pending bill worth ₹50 crore requires the Chief Minister’s approval. Meanwhile, IT-BT and RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge stated that the RDPR department had begun releasing payments in stages from Thursday.
The association also alleged that retired officer Balraj, accused of corruption by the Lokayukta, was appointed to the Housing Department. “Despite urging Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan to remove him, no action has been taken,” they claimed.
Association honorary president Jagannath Sheth alleged that around 70 MLAs across party lines were misusing officials to block civil contract works. “In Kalyana Karnataka, 15–20% commissions are being extracted in package contracts. Though not all ministers are involved, we will name the MLAs when we write to the party high command. The government must investigate serious irregularities, including those in the Gulbarga DMA package and other schemes,” he demanded.