Mangaluru: The state govt owes Rs 1,162.3 crore to contractors in Dakshina Kannada, said K Radhakrishna Naik, district president of the Contractors Association.He told reporters on Thursday, that bills to the tune of Rs 647 crore, pertaining to works taken up through the minor irrigation department, remained pending in the district. Further, bills of Rs 300 crore for works taken up through the PWD and Rs 309 crore related to works of rural drinking water and sanitation were also not cleared by the govt. Meanwhile, the Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat owed Rs 6.3 crore to contractors, he said.State president of the Karnataka State Contractors Association, R Manjunath, claimed that the state govt owed contractors over Rs 37,000 crore in pending bills. “We are demanding the govt clear all pending bills at once. We decided to hold a massive protest against the state govt over the non-payment of pending bills in Bengaluru on March 5,” he said.Manjunath said the level of corruption in govt increased compared to the previous govt. In response to a query on 40% commission allegations that his predecessor levelled against the previous BJP govt, Manjunath said that he would not disclose a percentage, as the contractors could not prove such allegations. “Will anyone bribe politicians or officials on record?” he asked.On the Jal Jeevan Mission works, he said that contractors were owed Rs 1,450 crore in the state. Stating that the central govt did not release its matching grants towards the scheme, Manjunath said that it was the responsibility of the state govt to put pressure on the central govt.Further, the contractors also expressed unhappiness over the state govt taking up development works through the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL), ignoring contractors.
