BENGALURU: Citing a steep rise in the prices of bitumen and other construction material, contractors have halted civic and infrastructure work worth over Rs 1,000 crore in Bengaluru.
The Greater Bengaluru City Corporations Contractors’ Association has demanded that the government introduce a ‘star rate’ mechanism for projects that have already been tendered, saying contractors are incurring heavy losses by executing projects at the rates quoted when the contracts were awarded.
Association president GM Nanda Kumar told TNIE that the contractors have demanded that the government extend the ‘star rate’ mechanism not only for new projects but also for those that have already been tendered. “Because of the ongoing US-Iran war, the price of bitumen has more than doubled from Rs 45,000 a quintal to Rs 92,000 now.
Prices of other materials, including cement, gravel, and steel, have also gone up. Contractors are incurring heavy losses by executingprojects at the rates quoted when the contracts were awarded,” he said.
Contractors have therefore stopped work on projects, which include asphalting, pothole filling, white-topping and others, Kumar said.
The delay in executing these projects could further affect road maintenance and infrastructure work across the city, potentially worsening potholes, contractors said.
GBA has ordered star rates for asphalting work for three months. But there is no clarity among GBA officials as to how the star rate should be implemented, the association said.
“As the old works have already been tendered, only government intervention can solve the problem. We urge the government to revise the rates of bitumen and construction materials based on prevailing market prices so that the additional costs are not borne entirely by contractors”, he said.
A delegation from the association met Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda recently and apprised him of the prevailing conditions. Kumar said that the minister assured them of looking into their demands.