Contractors stage protest over unpaid bills in Kalaburagi
They set a one-week deadline for the city corporation to clear their dues
Members of the Kalaburagi Mahanagara Palike Guttigedarara Abhivriddhipara Kalyana Sangha staged a protest on Monday in front of the Kalaburagi City Corporation office. They demanded payment for outstanding bills related to works completed under the 15th Finance Commission grants for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Sangha president M.K. Patil informed the City Corporation Commissioner through a memorandum that their bills have remained unpaid for nearly a year despite completing several works awarded through tenders under the grants.
They emphasized that they are small-scale contractors who borrowed money to purchase construction materials and meet labor costs. The prolonged delay in clearing bills has left them in severe financial stress, with sangha vice-president Dashrath Chougle noting that they could previously repay borrowings within a month of receiving payment for the works.
Despite repeated representations to the corporation authorities and the Directorate of Municipal Administration, no concrete action has been taken. Contractors also mentioned that lenders are pressuring them for repayment, exacerbating their financial difficulties. The sangha members urged the corporation to clear the pending bills as soon as possible, and if funds from the 15th Finance Commission grants are not available, the corporation should explore other permissible sources of funding to make the payments.
The agitating contractors threatened to intensify their protest and lay a siege to the corporation office building if the bills are not cleared within a week.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
