All ongoing civic works in the city may come to a halt from Monday, as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Contractors’ Association has announced an indefinite strike over pending bills.
The strike comes as a big blow to ongoing big-ticket white-topping works that commenced last month and work to fix bad stretches of roads ruined owing to rains.
After the Congress government came to power in 2023, it halted bill payments altogether in the city, pending inquiry. However, following protests by contractors, Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar ordered the civic body to begin clearing bills, but only pay 75% and retain the remaining 25% pending inquiry for works funded by the state government.
The Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das Committee, probing alleged corruption, is yet to submit its report. Meanwhile, the contractors have been demanding that their bills be settled.
While pending bills pertaining to works funded by the State government, including through Amruta Nagarothanna, crosses over ₹1,000 crore, bills pertaining to works taken up by the BBMP is pegged at ₹3,258 crore.
“The pending bills are mounting at the civic body and it is unfair to settle only 75% for even works that are being cleared. We have written multiple letters to the Chief Civic Commissioner, who says he has submitted a proposal to the government and the civic body would clear bills if it is approved. But Mr. Shivakumar has been giving us false assurances,” said K.T Manjunath, president, BBMP Contractors’ Association.
The BBMP started to clear bills from September 2023. “We have decided to stop all civic works including white-topping work indefinitely till the civic body starts settling the pending 25% of bills,” he said.
However, a senior BBMP official said the civic body will talk to the contractors and come to an amicable solution. “The contractors should not engage in arm-twisting tactics. The BBMP has been clearing the bills and it is not like the contractors went unpaid for a long time,” he said.