Clear liabilities of contractors: Bukhari to J-K Governor

Senior PDP leader and former minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari today asked Governor N N Vohra to clear the liabilities of contractors who executed various macadamisation (road surfacing) programmes initiated by former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in Jammu and Kashmir.
"There is a huge liability pegged at around Rs 700 crore in Public Works Department (PWD) and the contractors are not in a position to liquidate their loans.
"Liabilities of the contractors across the Valley have piled up and they are suffering unnecessarily," Bukhari said in a statement and appealed the Governor to address the problem.
Bukhari, who was Public Works Minister in Sayeed-led coalition government, said though the macadamisation programmes taken up in cities and towns, tourist destinations and in projectisation mode were not included in state plan it was at the behest of the then state government-led by Sayeed that these programmes were launched.

"In just a period of 10 months, around 2,000 km of roads were macadamised under such programmes," he said, adding "of late, funds have become available but only for the works taken up with the help of NABARD."
The former minister appealed Vohra to release funds for clearing liabilities before the commencement of next financial year so that these contractors do not turn into bank defaulters.