Sangli suicide: No dues owed as he was a sub-contractor, says govt
₹ 1.40 crore for work related to the state's Jal Jeevan Mission, the government claimed he was a sub-contractor, and not appointed by the government. (Representative photo) (HT)
A day after a Sangli-based contractor died by suicide allegedly over pending dues of ₹1.40 crore for work related to the state's Jal Jeevan Mission, the government claimed he was a sub-contractor, and not appointed by the government. The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and contractors' body have however termed the death as 'murder, a consequence of mismanagement of the state's finances'.
Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, said, 'The incident is unfortunate, but he was a sub-contractor and the government had no role in paying his fees. There is a process for releasing contractors' bills. We will, however, probe the death.'
While minister of water supply and sanitation, Gulabrao Patil, who belongs to the Shiv Sena, concurred with Pawar, officials from the department told HT anonymously that payment of dues amounting to ₹3200 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission was sent to the finance department in June, which responded only a few days ago citing paucity of funds for their inability to release the money.
Opposition, assn criticize govt
Maharashtra State Contractors' Association expressed displeasure over statements by Pawar and Patil, and shared details with HT about the deceased having completed four schemes for the project in Walwa and two in Shirala tehsils, and was indeed debt ridden. 'It is insensitive to see ministers washing their hands off the incident just because he was a sub-contractor. For the last one year, all contractors and associations have been raising their voice against pending dues. Yet, the government has not held any meeting over the issue related to the state's finances,' said Milind Bhosale, president of the association.
Slamming the government, MVA leaders pointed to funds being diverted for populist schemes such as the Ladki Bahin Yojana. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut called it 'murder' and sought the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 'Mr Prime Minister, look at this innocent face. He took his life yesterday. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, he completed works worth ₹1.40 crore, taking a loan of ₹80 lakh. But the government hasn't paid his dues, forcing him to take this extreme step,' Raut posted on X.
Taking a dig at Ladki Bahin spends, NCP (SP) chief spokesperson Jitendra Awhad said, 'The scheme is not viable for the government. Thousands of crores were allocated for it, which have affected other government expenditures. I request the chief minister to look into the matter personally.'
'After farmers, now contractors are dying by suicide,' said Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar. 'This government pays thousands of crores to big contractors but has no sympathy for small players working in each district for government schemes.'
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