Nagpur: The Nagpur Contractors Association (NCA) has stopped work across various projects claiming the govt has not cleared over 1,900 crore in Nagpur division alone. On Tuesday NCA members led by president Subodh Sarode submitted a memorandum to the CM’s office in Nagpur, saying they cannot continue work as debts continue to pile up.NCA added that their counterparts across Maharashtra have taken a similar step in the respective divisions, as overall almost 1 lakh crore is pending. Sarode said, “In Nagpur alone, the PWD released only 465 crore of 2,364 crore due to contractors as of March 31, leaving 1,900 crore unpaid. Contractors who committed to completing works on time were betrayed by release of such a small fraction of their dues. All contractors, labourers, cooperative societies, unemployed engineers have been called to stop work voluntarily until funds are made available.“According to information provided by NCA, statewide, the dues run across every major department. PWD dues for roads and buildings stand at 29,000 crore this year against 37,000 crore last year, Jal Jeevan Mission and Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (35,000 crore), water resources (9,000 crore), gram vikas and jal sandhan (6,500 crore), district planning and others (11,000 crore), urban development special funds (2,100 crore) and the Tourism Development Corporation (3,800 crore), said Sarode.Around 3 lakh contractors and developers operate across the state, with an estimated 4 crore people dependent on the sector. The associations said letters were submitted to the CM and both deputy CMs on Feb 26 and March 3, and a detailed representation was made at a state-level contractors’ meeting at Karjat on March 9, where a work stoppage was signalled if dues were not cleared. Local bodies and municipal corporations also have large volumes of new work pending for want of funds, the MSCA said.The associations said the non-payment of dues has affected contractors across categories, from small local firms to larger developers handling public infrastructure projects. They said delayed payments have disrupted project schedules, strained finances and affected workers linked to the construction sector. The stoppage call is expected to affect ongoing works across departments and regions if no immediate intervention is made by the state.
