WHAT THEY WANT
Kolkata: The Builders’ Association of India (BAI), Kolkata Centre, on Saturday alleged that the state govt owed contractors nearly Rs 50,000 crore in dues, which it claimed had accumulated during the previous Trinamool Congress regime. “The contractors’ outstanding bills to the state now stand at around Rs 50,000 crore. “Of the Rs 50,000 crore, over Rs 30,000 crore is due under Jal Jeevan Mission, Pathasathi and Amar Para Amar Samadhan. “According to rules, the contractors should get the payment within 45 days after raising bills.
We have sent an email to the CM, urging him to make the payment immediately,” Raja Mukherjee, secretary of BAI Kolkata Centre, said. The new govt, after assuming office, has started making payment for small amounts,” Mukherjee said. The problem is not only limited to Bengal, other states also face the issue by and large, according to BAI. This does not happen in other states,” Sushanta Kumar Basu, former all-India president of BAI, said. We demand the facility of paying GST after receiving the payment from the state,” Rajib Manna, chairman of BAI Kolkata Centre, said.
BAI urged chief minister Suvendu Adhikari to clear the outstanding bills at the earliest. They accumulated during the previous Trinamool regime, mostly since Covid. “In most cases in Bengal, the govt floats tenders without proper planning. The association has demanded that contractors should get the facility of paying GST after receiving the payment from the state govt. However, in Bengal, many contractors need to wait more than a for payment, although they have to pay GST after raising the invoice.
“The state has floated two tenders for renovation of the MLA hostel and is expected to come out with road tenders shortly,” Mukherjee said. The state govt has just started awarding tenders under non-plan heads.