Hot mix plant holders face problems due to non-payment

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 18: Hot Mix Plant Holders of Jammu Province held a meeting under the presidentship of Sham Singh Jamwal and discussed the problems being faced by the plant holders due to non-payment of works executed by them during the year 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-2019.
While speaking, Jamwal said that even during the popular Government, the plant holders did not face such financial problems as being faced now. There is no doubt that steps are being taken to streamline the working in the State department but still much more needed in this regards, he added.
The members present in the meeting raised the issue with the works bills are lying in the Treasury Offices for the last one month, but no payment has been released to the contractors, the reasons best known to the concerned authorities.
“Budget for the financial year 2019-20 was approved by the State Administration Council (SAC) headed by Governor Satya Pal Malik in the month of December 2018 to enable the concerned departments to incur the expenditure immediately after start of the current year, but it is learnt that till date no allotments to the departments has been made and the works are being hampered due to the non payment to the contractors”, they added.
They said that the tenders for new works are being advertised and the contractors are even executing the works allotted during the current financial year, but there is uncertainty about the payments to the works so executed, adding that all most all the contractors borrowed money from the banks or other financial institutions with the hope that payments would be received from the Government but due to non receipt of timely payments that contractors are facing financial hardships.
In the meeting, it was unanimously decided that if there is any difficulties being faced by the concerned authorities regarding allotment of funds to clear the liabilities for the year 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-2019, a committee may be constituted by the Governor to verify the relevant documents on the basis of which the liabilities for the ibid period have been worked out the department immediately so that the issue of allotment of funds to clear the liabilities for the year 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-2019 are cleared at the earliest.
Since the rainy season is about to start and there is not much time left to execute the bituminous works, the members said and urged upon the present Government to take immediate action to release the funds to clear the liabilities.

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