Contractors demand release of pending payments

Members of Contractors Welfare Association addressing a press conference in Jammu on Wednesday. -Excelsior/Rakesh
Members of Contractors Welfare Association addressing a press conference in Jammu on Wednesday. -Excelsior/Rakesh

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, July 6: Contractors Welfare Association, Jammu has demanded payment of their pending bills worth crores against the work executed in PHE/Jal Shakti department.
In a joint press conference, members of the Association pointed out that they are moving from AEE to Executive Engineer and the Chief Engineer of the Jal Shakti Department for the release of their pending payments for the last several years but not even single penny is being released. They are facing starvation as they have exhausted huge money on completion of contract works.
They further claimed that their Association again approached Chief Engineer Jal Shakti department and he claimed that he was `helpless’. It is surprising that Chief Engineer and Executive Engineers are busy in making new allotments worth over Rs 160 crores but they do not have the money for the already allotted and executed works. Where has gone that money. There seems to be big scam going on within the department.
The contractors have already completed many works in PHE under Languishing NABARD, NRDWP, LIC, Capex projects. They are running after the engineers from top to bottom for the release of their pending bills but no body listens. They said where is the good governance as claims made by so called BJP leaders and those in the LG’s administration.
It is irony that pending dues are still pending and new allotments are being made. They urged the LG, Manoj Sinha to order a high level probe into the matter and keep the fresh allotments at abeyance till the old dues of the executed works are cleared by the officers. They also demanded a CBI probe into the allotments made and works executed during last 5 years.