HYDERABAD: Protesting against the delay in the release of payments for works carried out, two contractors attempted to self immolate outside the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) head office on Tank Bund Road on Thursday. Though they had doused themselves with petrol, their attempts were thwarted by fellow contractors.
Nearly 200 contractors, under the aegis of the GHMC Contractor’s Association, staged a protest demanding the release of Rs 1,500 crore pending for over a year for various engineering works undertaken by them. They displayed placards and raised slogans such as “No payment, No work”.”
The contractors demanded that the GHMC commissioner release the long-pending dues. The protesters tried to storm the GHMC head office to meet the commissioner but were stopped by police. Alerted to the situation, GHMC Commissioner K Ilambarithi called the contractors for discussions to address the issue of pending bills.
Several contractors said that their bills had been pending for over a year despite multiple representations to the authorities concerned. They criticised the “lukewarm” response from officials in the matter.
Strike on hold
After the meeting, the association’s general secretary, M Surender Singh, told TNIE that the commissioner assured them of releasing Rs 500 crore for dues from June and July 2024 before Sankranti.
The remaining dues would be cleared within two months, as the state government had committed to providing Rs 500 crore per month to the GHMC, out of which Rs 200 crore would be allocated monthly for clearing contractor bills. Following the assurance, the contractors decided to put its proposed strike on hold.
Singh highlighted the financial hardships faced by contractors due to delayed payments. “Engineering works such as road laying, desilting, instant repairs and nala maintenance are being carried out by taking loans against our wives’ gold ornaments. Many of us have accumulated massive debts,” he said, adding that contractors are also struggling to pay salaries to employees and incurring significant financial losses in the process.