Rs2,300 Crore in Pending Bills Stall Key Projects Across Nagpur Circle

Time of India

14-05-2025

Nagpur: Several key
undertaken by the
(PWD) in the Nagpur circle have come to a standstill due to the non-clearance of bills amounting to Rs2,300 crore. The
has claimed that the state government has not cleared bills for the last two years, pushing contractors into severe financial distress."Currently, the
stand at around Rs2,325 crore in the Nagpur circle, comprising Nagpur, Gondia, and Bhandara districts.
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Contractors are suffering, as many have taken huge loans to complete these projects. With funds not being released, their debt continues to mount," Subodh Sarode, president of the Nagpur Contractors' Association, told TOI.According to data shared by the association, Nagpur district alone has pending bills amounting to Rs1,525 crore, including Rs1,174 crore related to works on roads, bridges, and road-over-bridges (RoBs) under various categories.
Gondia district has a pendency of Rs501 crore, while Bhandara district's dues stand at Rs298 crore.In February this year, contractors went on a statewide strike over pending payments, following which the government released some funds in March. However, the association claims the release was inadequate. "The government released only about 8% to 10% of the total pending dues, and some contractors haven't received a single rupee. Although we have put the protest on hold, the situation remains grim," Sarode said."Contractors are only working on projects that would suffer further losses if delayed by the rains. While the government continues to approve new projects, it must first clear the old dues. Otherwise, new contractors will also get caught in the same debt trap," he added.TOI attempted to reach PWD's superintending engineer Janardhan Bhanuse, for comment, but he was unavailable. However, several senior PWD officials confirmed that pending bills have affected many projects."The situation is serious. The government must clear the backlog to ensure the timely completion of projects. It should also consider pausing new project approvals until the existing pendency is resolved," said a senior PWD official, adding that even banks involved in the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) projects are now exposed to financial risk.