Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 4: Amid indefinite boycott call of developmental works and tendering process, Jammu and Kashmir Central Contractors Coordination Committee (J&KCCCC) today held a protest demonstration at Lalchowk against the Government’s failure to release their bills which are pending with various departments.
The protest demonstration was led by J&KCCCC General Secretary, Farooq Ahmad Dar in which contractors from various departments and districts participated.
The contractors were demanding clearance of bills which they claimed were pending with the Government. “We appeal the Government to clear the pending bills or we will boycott all tenders and developmental projects,” he said.
Accusing the Government of being insensitive towards them, Dar lamented that ‘injustice’ is being meted out to more than 70,000 Valley based contractors.
He alleged that Rs 750 crore of contractors are still pending with Government from last so many years. “We have spent crores of rupees on maintenance and up gradation on development works, but till date no funds have been released,” he alleged.
He said most of the contractors had taken loans even from private persons as well as financial institutions with hefty interest rates but dilly dallying approach of the Government in clearing the pending dues is forcing them to pay the interests unnecessarily.
Demanding immediate release of the claims, he questioned, why the contractors should bear the loss due to negligence of engineers and politicians, who force them to complete the work without arranging the required funds in advance. “It has been so many years but bills worth crores of rupees of contractors are pending thereby forcing us to ‘indefinitely suspend’ works on all major developmental works in Kashmir,” he said.
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