'Commission doubled under Congress govt', alleges contractors' body

Bengaluru, Sep 27 (PTI) The Karnataka State Contractors' Association (KSCA) has written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleging that commission for clearing payments in several departments under the current Congress government has "doubled" compared with the previous BJP regime.

It accused the state government of failing to release long-pending dues of contractors for nearly two years.

In a letter dated September 25, the association has said that despite repeated assurances and instructions to officials, contractors across districts have not received any relief so far.

It pointed out that eight departments that execute public works have withheld payments and are releasing only 15-20 per cent of dues once every three months under "special lines of credit" arrangements.

"While in Opposition, you had assured us that once in power, pending contractor payments would be released without any commission. But compared to the previous government, commissions have now doubled in all departments," the letter signed by president R Manjunath and general secretary G M Ravindra of the association has said.

The '40 per cent commission' allegation by KSCA had rocked state politics and became a major poll plank for the Congress to wrest power from BJP in 2023 Assembly polls.

The KSCA has been urging the Congress government to release pending bills worth Rs 32,000 crore.

The association also flagged that additional GST amounts for the years 2017-18 to 2020-21 have not been reimbursed despite repeated representations to the Finance Department.

Further, it accused the Department of Mines and Geology of imposing "unscientific penalties" on contractors' vehicles and levying five times the royalty penalty in cases where MDP (Mineral Dispatch Permit) is not submitted, contrary to earlier assurances that the government would bear the difference.

It also highlighted that organisations like the Karnataka Road Infrastructure Development Limited (KRDCL-Land Army) were awarding works to "followers" of public representatives and party workers, who in turn subcontracted the projects to registered senior contractors after "taking a cut." It claimed that Urban Development, Town Planning and Labour Department officials were converting tenders into package forms to favour "powerful contractors".

Stating that their repeated appeals have gone unheard, the association expressed disappointment that their support in the fight against corruption had not translated into any benefit under the present dispensation.

There was no immediate reaction from the government or the ruling Congress. PTI AMP ADB