Contractors from across the Vidarbha region staged a massive protest at Samvidhan Square in Nagpur Tuesday over pending payments of nearly Rs 89,000 crore for completed works to the contractors across the state.
Around 500 contractors participated in the agitation led by Subodh Sarode, president of the Nagpur Contractor Association.
The contractors, who organised a ‘bheek mango andolan’ (begging protest), said that dues have remained unpaid for the last one year across key departments, including the Public Works Department, Rural Development Department, Jal Jeevan Mission, and Zilla Parishad.
Contractors said they have repeatedly written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the deputy chief ministers, seeking a meeting to resolve the issue, but have received only assurances.
According to contractors, the prolonged delay in payment has caused severe financial distress.
They highlighted the case of Harshal Patil, a contractor-engineer from Sangli, who died by suicide a month ago, over pending dues.
On Independence Day, some contractors had even threatened self-harm in protest, while in Wardha, one contractor attempted self-immolation but was prevented by others.
“We stopped our members from bringing shame to themselves on such an important national day, but the desperation is real,” a statement released by the association added.
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One contractor from Nagpur said they are left with no choice but to intensify their agitation.
“We will take this to Azad Maidan, and if our demands are still ignored, we will launch a complete ‘work stoppage protest’ (kaam banda andolan). That has become a priority now,” he said.
“Contractors have repeatedly met CM Fadnavis and other officials, and they gave us plenty of promises, but we are still only getting 3 or 4 per cent of what is due. The gap keeps increasing,” Nikhil Salve, one of the contractors, said.
He accused the government of pushing large volumes of development work before elections and leaving contractors to struggle afterward.
Contractors said they had borrowed heavily at interest to complete government work, but delays have left them unable to pay labourers, small vendors, and suppliers.
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“When our payments are blocked, the entire economic cycle collapses. Mechanics, vendors, laborers, everyone suffers. Building cement roads and other big works costs crores. How can we manage with only 3–5 per cent of our dues cleared?” Salve asked.
Another contractor said, “We did so much work for the government that helped them win elections, and now we are forced to beg for what we rightfully earned.”
“Our bills have been stuck for the past two years. There is funding for the Metro, for the Shaktipeeth Expressway, for the Samruddhi Mahamarg, but none set aside to clear our dues,” alleged another contractor.
The members of the associations also said that the latest petition was met with barricades from police.
