BENGALURU: The Karnataka State Contractors’ Association has set a deadline of December 1, 2025, for the state government to clear pending dues amounting to ₹33,000 crore, failing which the association has threatened to stop all ongoing works across departments.
Association President Manjunath R said they had met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah regarding the issue and that the CM had assured them he would look into their demands.
“We have waited for two and a half years; we will wait for another 44 days. After that, we will not just stop the work but will also approach Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, and AICC General Secretary K. C. Venugopal for their intervention,” said Manjunath.
The association claimed that the situation has become so dire that contractors switch off their phones during the Gauri-Ganesh festival, Dasara, and Deepavali as workers demand their dues and festival bonuses.
“The CM said that we will hold a meeting after the festival. We should call a meeting and resolve the problem. If we don’t, we will complain to the Governor in December,” Manjunath warned.
The association further claimed that corruption still persists, but their main focus is to get the pending dues cleared.
“I have said in the letter that the commission has doubled in the matter of releasing money. I did not say 40%, 60%, 80% commission. Small contractors have come to a situation where they are drinking poison,” said Manjunath, adding, “I am not saying that there is no bribery in the Congress government. I am not saying that there is no commission. We will reveal all those things in December.”
The association claimed that they have met the CM five to six times and also met each minister in the cabinet, yet the issue of pending dues has not been addressed.
“There is a pending balance of ₹9,000 crore in the PWD department. They are giving money based on seniority. It is not happening in the remaining departments. There is a pending balance of ₹12,000 crore from the irrigation department. Overall, there are pending dues of ₹33,000 crore from the state government. It has been brought to the attention of the CM and the ministers that the pending money has not been released from any department except Public Works,” Manjunath said.
He stated that Minister Priyank Kharge has agreed that the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department has initiated the release of dues in phases from Thursday. “One bill amounting to ₹50 crore needs to be cleared by the CM,” said Manjunath.
The association also alleged that a retired official, Balaraj, who is facing corruption charges from the Lokayukta, has been appointed in the Housing Department. They appealed to Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan to remove the corrupt official. “The minister is yet to take action despite bringing the issue to his notice,” the association claimed.
Jagannath Sethji, Honorary President of the association, made a serious allegation that irrespective of political party, around 70 MLAs are using officials as conduits to demand cuts for civil works contracts.
“There is corruption involving a 15%–20% commission in package contracts in Kalyan Karnataka. None of the ministers are involved, and not all MLAs are part of it. When we write to the high command, we will mention the names of all those MLAs,” said Sethji. He also added that there are serious irregularities involving contractors and that the government must investigate all four package projects, including the Gulbarga DMA package.
