Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 2: Contractors’ Association, Jammu province today held a protest demanding release of payments for work done by them and burnt the effigies of Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister for not paying heed to their demands.
Scores of contractors of Irrigation and Flood Control Department this morning assembled at Irrigation Complex, Canal Road, Jammu and stage a sit-in protest. The contractors raised slogans against the authorities of Irrigation and Flood Control Department for not releasing their work done payments.
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Vinod Kohli, general secretary of the Association, criticized the higher authorities of Irrigation Department for not releasing their payments worth crores of rupees for work done by them in last three years under AIBP SDRF schemes and desilting of canals in Jammu province. He urged the Irrigation and Flood Control Minister to intervene into the issue and so that contractors may get their payments.
The protesting contractors said that no work will be taken in hands by any contractor till all their claims are settled. They further said that not even a single contractor will participate in the tendering process of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department.
The protesters also pressed the Government to defer introduction of Pay and Accounts System (PAS) to April 1.The speakers said that they welcome the decision of the State Government for making the payment to the contractors via Pay and Accounts System for which a pilot project has been started in PHE, Irrigation, F/C and R&B Department with effect from 15-02-2018.
“Though it is a revolutionary system but the Government staff on ground is not well versed with it and with its introduction teething problems are expected”, they said and requested the Government to defer this system of payment to April 1, so that it does not operate harshly against the financial interest of the working contractors and before March 31, all the work done payment of the contractors, which is in crores, may be released in toto.
Later, the protesting contractors in the form of a rally moved towards Press Club, Jammu where they burnt the effigies of Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh and State Finance Minister, Dr Haseeb Drabu for ignoring the genuine issues of the contractors.
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