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Time of India
18 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Contractors send notice to govt over ₹90,000cr pending dues, warn of going to court
Pune: Contractors executing critical infrastructural works across Maharashtra have sent a legal notice to the state govt on June 10, demanding payment of dues amounting to over Rs 90,000 crore. The notice sent to the chief minister, deputy chief ministers, chief secretary and heads of key departments, warned that they will approach Bombay high court if a payment schedule is not provided within a fortnight. The contractors, represented by Builders' Association of India (BAI) — a national body with over 230 branches — say dues include payments for roads, bridges, water supply, irrigation, and govt building repairs taken up for over a year. Public Works Department (PWD) alone owes them over ₹46,000 crore, association members said. "We wrote to govt in Feb but no concrete action was taken. We have now issued a formal legal notice. The situation is untenable," a senior BAI member, requesting anonymity, said. He added that it is discouraging to carry out infrastructural works when funds are not released on time. "Govt must revert within a fortnight or else we will have to take up the issue in Bombay high court," the BAI member told TOI. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pinga-Pinga e HBP? Tome isso 1x ao dia se tem mais de 40 anos Portal Saúde do Homem Clique aqui Undo The notice states that non-payment of running bills has severely impacted contractors' ability to repay bank loans, leading to many accounts being classified as non-performing assets (NPAs). "This financial stress is not due to any fault of the contractors but entirely due to non-release of funds by the state," it reads. BAI said many projects under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) where semi-annual payments are promised post-completion have also been affected. "Payments are irregular and often as low as 6% to 7% of the billed amount which dissuades young contractors from entering the construction sector," the notice states. During repeated meetings with govt officials, BAI members say they have been told that budget constraints are delaying payments. What has angered the contractors is the state's massive outlay for Mukhyamantri Mazhi Ladki Bahin Yojana launched last year. "We have been waiting for our dues for works that have been completed. But here, govt is handing out Rs 1,500 monthly to 2.46 crore women spending over Rs 3,700 crore every month," the BAI member said. Text messages to the offices of the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and finance minister Ajit Pawar remained unanswered at the time of going to press. Break-up of dues PWD I ₹46,000 crore Jal Jeevan Mission I ₹18,000 crore Water Resources Department I ₹19,700 crore Rural Development Department I ₹8,600 crore Urban Development Department I ₹1,700 crore (BAI sources) Govt is free to run welfare programmes, but it must pay contractors who have completed public infrastructural work using borrowed funds BAI Member Pune: Contractors executing critical infrastructural works across Maharashtra have sent a legal notice to the state govt on June 10, demanding payment of dues amounting to over Rs 90,000 crore. The notice sent to the chief minister, deputy chief ministers, chief secretary and heads of key departments, warned that they will approach Bombay high court if a payment schedule is not provided within a fortnight. The contractors, represented by Builders' Association of India (BAI) — a national body with over 230 branches — say dues include payments for roads, bridges, water supply, irrigation, and govt building repairs taken up for over a year. Public Works Department (PWD) alone owes them over ₹46,000 crore, association members said. "We wrote to govt in Feb but no concrete action was taken. We have now issued a formal legal notice. The situation is untenable," a senior BAI member, requesting anonymity, said. He added that it is discouraging to carry out infrastructural works when funds are not released on time. "Govt must revert within a fortnight or else we will have to take up the issue in Bombay high court," the BAI member told TOI. The notice states that non-payment of running bills has severely impacted contractors' ability to repay bank loans, leading to many accounts being classified as non-performing assets (NPAs). "This financial stress is not due to any fault of the contractors but entirely due to non-release of funds by the state," it reads. BAI said many projects under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) where semi-annual payments are promised post-completion have also been affected. "Payments are irregular and often as low as 6% to 7% of the billed amount which dissuades young contractors from entering the construction sector," the notice states. During repeated meetings with govt officials, BAI members say they have been told that budget constraints are delaying payments. What has angered the contractors is the state's massive outlay for Mukhyamantri Mazhi Ladki Bahin Yojana launched last year. "We have been waiting for our dues for works that have been completed. But here, govt is handing out Rs 1,500 monthly to 2.46 crore women spending over Rs 3,700 crore every month," the BAI member said. Text messages to the offices of the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and finance minister Ajit Pawar remained unanswered at the time of going to press. Break-up of dues PWD I ₹46,000 crore Jal Jeevan Mission I ₹18,000 crore Water Resources Department I ₹19,700 crore Rural Development Department I ₹8,600 crore Urban Development Department I ₹1,700 crore (BAI sources) Govt is free to run welfare programmes, but it must pay contractors who have completed public infrastructural work using borrowed funds BAI Member Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Contractors send legal notice to CM over 90,000-crore dues
MUMBAI: Contractors executing government projects have sent a legal notice to the chief minister, deputy chief ministers, chief secretary and various government departments, demanding that dues amounting to more than ₹90,000 crore be paid to them. They have also demanded a time-bound payment schedule within a fortnight, or else they will move court, they claim. Represented by the Builders' Association of India (BAI), the contractors say they have been demanding that the government release their dues for a year, but to no avail. The work they have executed includes infrastructure projects such as the building of roads and bridges, irrigation works, and repairs of government buildings, among other things. In February, Anand Gupta, vice-president, BAI, said at a press conference that contractors would launch a 'stop work protest' if they didn't get their money soon. The public works department owes them ₹46,000 crore; Jal Jeevan Mission ₹18,000 crore; rural development department ₹8,600 crore; water resources department ₹19,700 crore; and urban development department ₹1,700 crore, among others. The total outstanding sum is more than ₹90,000 crore. The contractors are particularly upset with the government's largesse under the Ladki Bahin Scheme, which has stirred much controversy since it was launched as an election sop late last year. In February, the association pointed out that while contractors weren't being paid money owed to them, the state was spending taxpayers' money – ₹3,700 crore a month – to hand out ₹1,500 a month to 2.46 crore women across the state. When no word was forthcoming form the government, BAI on June 10 sent a legal notice to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, chief secretary Sujata Saunik, and several other ministers and secretaries of various government departments. 'The dues have crossed ₹90,000 crore and it has become difficult to work without money. Contractors have been paying heavy interest on unpaid bills to banks, from which funds have been borrowed to carry out the work. We want the government to give us a payment schedule with a time limit. If the state government does not do this within a fortnight, we will approach the high court,' according to the legal notice sent by BAI. Gupta said that when BAI representatives and contractors met state officials, the latter expressed their inability to pay their dues. They said they were constrained by the state's budget. 'On the other hand, the government has been spending over ₹40,000 crore on the social sector, to hand out cash benefits. The government is free to do whatever it wants but, first, it should pay us for completed works,' he said. This year, the state finance minister presented a ₹7.20 lakh crore annual budget, with a ₹45,892-crore revenue deficit and ₹1,36,234-crore fiscal deficit. And, yet, despite these alarming numbers, an allocation of ₹36,000 crore has been made for the Ladki Bahin scheme. Calls and text messages to the offices of the chief minister, chief secretary, finance minister Ajit Pawar, and additional chief secretary of the finance department OP Gupta went unanswered.
