Bengaluru: Mounting anger among contractors across Karnataka has once again put the Congress-led state government in the dock, as the State Contractors Association has warned of a statewide agitation if the government fails to release the pending ₹33,000 crore bills.
After a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on the evening of October 18, Association President R. Manjunath said the government has been making repeated assurances but has failed to act.
“They said the bills would be cleared by December and that a meeting with the Chief Minister will be held soon. But if the ₹33,000 crore outstanding amount is not released, there will definitely be a struggle,”, Manjunath said after the meeting.
He accused the government of neglecting contractors despite repeated appeals and highlighted that several contractors are in financial distress due to unpaid dues from various departments. “They said they will give ₹50 lakh to four corporations, but that is a small relief compared to the huge pending bills. We are not making allegations; we are only demanding what is rightfully ours,” he added.
Repeated promises, no results
According to Manjunath, the government had earlier promised to clear pending bills by January, later advancing the timeline to December, but nothing concrete has materialized. “Contractors of eight departments are facing severe hardship. Even during the festival season, they were not paid. The government said it would fix the issue soon, but we have heard only words, not action,” he said.
He warned that if the state continues to delay payments, the association will escalate the issue by approaching the Governor and national-level Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Randeep Surjewala, and K.C. Venugopal.
Contractors threaten to halt work
On October 17, speaking at the Chamarajpet Contractors Association office, Manjunath had made his stand clear: “We will not go to court we will stop work. We will stop work and protest. Contractors are in great difficulty. We trusted the Chief Minister. We have met him five or six times, and we have met each minister. Yet, there has been no relief”.
Manjunath revealed that the Public Works Department (PWD) alone has unpaid bills amounting to ₹9,000 crore, while the Irrigation Department owes around ₹12,000 crore. “The total dues from all departments stand at ₹33,000 crore. The PWD follows seniority in clearing bills, but other departments are bypassing this rule,” he said.
Allegations of corruption
Significantly, Manjunath stopped short of directly accusing the Congress government of corruption but dropped a serious hint. “I won’t say there is no bribery in the government. I won’t say there is no commission. We will speak about that in December. But the truth is, the commission rate has doubled. The situation is so bad that some contractors are on the verge of drinking poison,” he said.
His remarks are being seen as a direct jibe at the Congress, which had earlier accused the previous BJP government of commission sarkar.” The association now alleges that the commission culture has worsened under the present regime, despite its promises of clean governance.
Government’s credibility at stake
The controversy comes as a major embarrassment for the Siddaramaiah-led government, which is already battling criticism over rising fiscal pressure and unpaid welfare scheme bills. Officials from the finance and public works departments maintain that the delay is due to procedural clearances and the state’s tight financial position.
However, with contractors threatening to halt work across departments, including critical infrastructure and irrigation projects, the pressure on the government is mounting. The association’s decision to approach the Governor signals the seriousness of the standoff.
If the government fails to resolve the issue soon, it could face not only a crisis in the implementation of ongoing projects but also a significant political backlash as unpaid contractors, who were once seen as silent allies of the ruling party, are now openly accusing the Congress government for its apathy and corruption.
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