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Bengaluru, Oct 18 (IANS) Commenting on the time period set by the Karnataka State Contractors Association to clear pending dues of Rs 33,000 crore, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Development Minister, on Saturday said he is not afraid of threats from the association.
He was speaking to the media at Venkaiah Park in Bengaluru’s KR Puram assembly constituency during the “Bengaluru Nadige” (Walk in Bengaluru) campaign as part of a “dialogue with citizens”.
The Deputy Chief Minister said, “Their (Karnataka State Contractors Association’s) deadlines do not apply to me. I have called a meeting with the association and will talk to them directly. I am not afraid of threats. During the previous BJP-led state government, the association had allowed expenses in excess of the state budget. That is why this problem has arisen. Still, we are clearing their pending bills step by step, and until the problem goes away We will continue to do so until it is resolved. Resolved.”
The Karnataka State Contractors Association on Friday urged the Congress-led Karnataka government to release Rs 33,000 crore of pending dues to contractors and warned that if the money was not released, they would stop all work across the state and hold massive protests.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Karnataka State Contractors Association President R. Manjunath said, “Congress leaders assured us that if their government came to power in Karnataka, they would resolve the contractors’ issues. Now, they (Congress government) are not paying the dues. The contractors are left with no option but to consider extreme measures.”
He said that the wives and children of the contractors are continuously reaching out to the association.
“Of the total Rs 52,000 crore of pending bills, some departments have released some money, while Rs 33,000 crore are still outstanding,” he said.
“We will wait for another month. If the money is not released we will launch massive protests,” he warned.
Shivakumar also said, “There is a national highway, flyover and metro in this area (KR Puram). We will connect the tunnel road in this area with all these infrastructure. We may not be able to solve your 100 per cent complaints but we are making our honest efforts.”
“Setting up five new corporations is a historic decision. We are collecting taxes worth Rs 6,000 crore from the city, of which Bengaluru East’s share is Rs 1,600 crore. The tax that the respective corporation collects should now be utilized in the same area,” he said.
Shivakumar said, “Bengaluru East Corporation is a resource-rich corporation across Karnataka and the revenue will be used to fix civic issues here. Earlier, the amount collected here was used in other parts of the city as well. We have taken several steps to expedite development work. The council of the corporation can spend up to Rs 10 crore without tenders and the commissioner can spend up to Rs 3 crore without tenders.”
–IANS
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