Contractors threaten to stop work in Karnataka saying unpaid bills amount to ₹37,370 crore

The Karnataka State Contractors’ Association (KSCA) has again threatened to halt each civilian enactment crossed the State and spell connected a onslaught if the authorities doesn’t commencement clearing pending bills, which reportedly magnitude to a whopping ₹37,370 crore. 

The Association has sought a gathering chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who besides holds complaint of the Finance Department, to code their concerns, and perpetrate to a timeline to wide pending bills successful a phased manner. 

Estimate of unpaid bills

The Association is applying this unit up of the State budget, preparations for which are underway successful afloat swing. The authorities of Karnataka volition contiguous the State fund successful the archetypal week of March. 

Sources said KSCA is looking astatine a February 5 deadline for the authorities to respond to their demands, pursuing which they volition motorboat a strike. However, they person not made immoderate announcement successful this regard. 

The Association had likewise threatened a onslaught aft Deepavali festival successful October 2025, but were pacified during a gathering with authorities representatives. The pending bills past amounted to an estimated ₹33,000 crore. The magnitude has lone grown since then. 

R. Manjunath, President, KSCA, said that ever since the Congress authorities took complaint successful Karnataka, pending bills had been mounting, and clearance was irregular. “Barring immoderate bills cleared successful the Public Works Department and erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), nary different section is clearing bills regularly,” helium said.

G. M. Ravindra, Working President, KSCA, said that each contractors were caught successful a indebtedness trap with the involvement connected loans moving into respective crores. “Due to specified a agelong hold and corruption, declaration enactment is becoming unsustainable successful Karnataka,” helium said. 

Allegations of kickbacks, corruption

The Association has besides alleged that demands for kickbacks to wide bills had not reduced and, successful immoderate cases, whitethorn person adjacent gone up nether the Congress government. This allegation gains value arsenic Congress ran a run against the erstwhile BJP authorities based connected ‘40% kickback’ allegations by KSCA earlier coming to powerfulness successful 2023.

G. M. Nandakumar, General Secretary, KSCA, alleged contracts successful the Urban Development Department were being fixed by middlemen, a complaint denied by UDD Minister Byrathi Suresh, who has challenged the contractors to furnish grounds and lodge complaints with the Lokayukta. 

Sources said the Association is readying to constitute to All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition successful the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, drafting their attraction to the situation of mounting pending bills and corruption to wide bills successful the Congress-run authorities successful Karnataka.