The contractors told Rahul Gandhi that the state govt gave out contracts way beyond the budget provision when Shinde was CM and now the state was heading into bankruptcy
Mumbai: Contractors from Maharashtra met Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi over pending payments of Rs 1 lakh crore from the state govt. They blamed deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde for rolling out tenders far beyond budget provisions to win the 2024 elections while he was CM, and said Maharashtra was heading toward bankruptcy. Payments of Rs 40,000 crore to small contractors are pending, they said. Total bills of around Rs 86,000 crore remain unpaid, Maharashtra State Contractors’ Federation and State Engineers’ Association’s Milind Bhosale has said. Of this, Rs 28,000 crore is due from PWD alone, Bhosale said.
The delegation informed him that they had completed work related to infrastructure development, but the government is not making the payments, due to which many small contractors are struggling with a financial crisis.
They told Gandhi to take up the issue in Parliament. Contractors told Gandhi that the state govt gave out contracts way beyond the budget provision when Shinde was CM and now the state was heading into bankruptcy, forcing contractors into suicide. Rahul Gandhi said he will take up the issue in Parliament and also write to Maharashtra govt. Contractors told Rahul that Shinde gave out mega contracts before the elections to win the elections, but there was no money to make payments. Contractors said many contracts were given to Gujarat-based companies who then subcontracted work to small contractors but did not release payments. By tampering with the rules, benefits are being extended to large contractors, while small contractors and thousands of families associated with them are facing hardships, according to them. Rahul Gandhi assured the delegation that he will raise the voice of justice and will ensure that they get their due,” Congress said in a post on X. Contractors’ associations have said contractors have been subjected to immense financial and psychological torture by authorities.
“LoP Rahul Gandhi recently met with a delegation of small contractors from Maharashtra and listened to their problems.