Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 19: The Jammu & Kashmir Contractors Coordination Committee (JKCCC) Chairman Ghulam Jeelani Purza today expressed serious concern over the mounting difficulties being faced by contractors across J&K UT due to huge pending payments, non-availability of raw material, delays in payment clearances and several unresolved administrative issues, stating that the ongoing crisis is severely affecting developmental activities across the UT.
In a meeting of the JKCCC held here today, Jeelani said that contractors associated with various Government departments, particularly Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Roads & Buildings (R&B) civil / macadamization works, are facing immense financial stress due to non-release of payments worth hundreds of crores.
He stated that contractors working under the Jal Jeevan Mission are awaiting payments amounting to nearly Rs 1500 crore and have been protesting for the past several days over the issue. He further said that civil contractors under the R&B sector are facing liabilities of nearly Rs 72 crore, while macadamization-related payments worth around Rs 80 crore are also pending.
Jeelani Purza said, “Contractors have completed works under difficult circumstances, but unfortunately they are now struggling because their legitimate payments have not been released.
Highlighting another major concern, Purza said the ban and restrictions on extraction and transportation of raw material across different districts have badly impacted developmental works and infrastructure projects. He said while the government has imposed restrictions on raw material extraction, contractors are yet to be informed about officially approved legal sources from where material can be procured in a transparent and lawful manner.
He added that despite meetings chaired by the Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo and constitution of committees regarding the issue, no practical implementation has taken place on the ground till date.
The JKCCC appealed to the Lt Governor and the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to immediately intervene and resolve all pressing issues related to pending payments, raw material availability, treasury clearances of the contractors.
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