VIJAYAWADA: Sending an SoS to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to save their families, representatives from the consortium of suppliers and sub-contractors of Transstroy India Limited, which was executing Polavaram project, have said that they are not being paid their dues amounting to `22.15 crore.“We are small players and our due is just a few crores of rupees. When major sub-contractors like L&T, Bauers, Triveni and others are being cleared of their bills amounting to `200 crore to `300 crore, why we are not getting paid? When we approached them, we were asked to satisfy with 20 per cent of the dues. If it is the case, we have no other option, but to commit suicide,” they told mediapersons here on Monday.
Vasireddy Murali Krishna, proprietor of GEE CEE Supplements, G Venkateswara Rao of GVV Contractors and others, who met Naidu in the morning and submitted a memorandum explaining their problems, said that they were in a difficult situation. “Our bills are pending for the last 18 months. We have taken loans from others for doing the sub-contract we get.
Now, we are facing pressure from financiers,” Murali Krishna said. According to him, they have visited the Transstroy office in Hyderabad several times to get their bills cleared, but were literally thrown out using goons or chased out with the help of police. “All we are asking is to pay what is due to us.
They are saying they are now winding up the company and offering 20% of the payment as one-time settlement and that too before September 14. We are worried,” Gandhi Gadde, another contractor said. Some of them have even approached Water Resources Minister D Umamaheswara Rao, but in vain.
“I supplied black gravel to Polavaram and `3.5 crore is due to me. When I approached the minister, he said he will take care of the issue and sent me to the officials, but there has been no response from them. Unofficially, I was asked to adjust with a part of the payment,” explained Venkateswarlu, an elderly contractor, who suffered a heart stroke after the incident. There are around 75 contractors who took sub-contract to supply men, machinery and materials for the project.