Mysuru Municipal contractors go on strike demanding payments

The Corporation owes them Rs 115 crore for work carried out from 2011 to 2014

Contractors of the Mysuru Municipal Corporation (MCC) have gone on a strike demanding payment of their bills pending for the last three years.

The MCC owed the contractors Rs 115 crore for the works they have carried out from 2011 to 2014. The amount was pending inspite of their several pleas and demands. As a result, they have been put to hardship as most had executed works on borrowed money at high rates of interest, according to MCC and Vani Vilasa Water Works Contractors’ Association President C Udayakumar.

Around 500 registered contractors are carrying out several works in the city and these works came to a halt today. A number of works, like the Rajpath and 24/7 water supply under Jusco scheme, were already delayed and making slow progress, causing hardship to the rate-payers.

Earlier, reacting to a statement from the Association of the Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysuru president M Lakshman on the dues to the contractors and demanding a whitepaper on the financial position of the MCC, Commissioner C G Betsurmath had said that the civic body was making payments of bills pending for last three years on seniority basis.

Payments had to be made from MCC’s own resources coming from property tax, trade licence, water charges and other sources of revenue.

MCC’s works were of two types — works carried out from its own resources and works taken up under financial assistance from the state government. For the latter, payments were made after the release of funds from the government, while payments for the former had to be done from its own funds. Special steps had been initiated to mobilise tax dues, he had stated.

Alleging wasteful expenditure and allowing substandard works entrusting them to contractors of outside the state, Lakshman had demanded a white-paper on the financial status of the MCC.