Haveri contractors seek mercy killing over unpaid dues by Karnataka government
Haveri: The contractors in Haveri district have reportedly threatened to seek mercy killing if the Karnataka government fails to clear their long-pending dues totaling Rs 738 crore by the end of April.
The contractors alleged that years of unpaid bills, coupled with rampant corruption and mounting debt, have pushed them to the brink of desperation. “The contractors in the district would be forced to seek mercy killing if the government failed to clear the pending dues by April-end,” Mallikarjun Haveri, taluk president of Haveri district contractors’ association, was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald.
The association claimed that commissions ranging from 10 percent to 15 percent commission for the works in the district are being demanded by officials and middlemen in several departments, including the Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited (KNNL) and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR).
“The contractors borrow money at high interests to execute the works. We paid a commission hoping that they would clear our dues. The middlemen are sucking contractors’ blood,” Mallikarjun alleged.
“In Haveri district, bills amounting to Rs 200 crore is pending with the Public Works Department, RDPR has to clear Rs 138 crore in dues to contractors and Rs 400 crore is pending for the works announced during the previous BJP government,” he added.
Meanwhile, the contractors had staged a protest demanding payment of their long-pending dues during the winter session of the state legislature in Belagavi. In response, the Public Works Minister had then assured them that the bills would be cleared in phases by the end of March. However, the RDPR, KNNL, and the Minor Irrigation Department have yet to release payments amounting to several crores.
“Now, the contractors are urging the government to either settle their dues or permit them to opt for euthanasia,” the contractors’ association office-bearer said.
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Ajit Pawar rues Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka still not part of Maharashtra
Mumbai, May 1 (PTI): Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said even 65 years after the formation of Maharashtra, there is one regret - that Belgaum and Karwar, parts of adjoining Karnataka, were still not merged with the western Marathi-speaking state.
Speaking at a party event organised on the occasion of Maharashtra Day, Pawar, who heads the ruling NCP, asserted his outfit will not abandon the ideology of legendary social reformers Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and B R Ambedkar.
Recalling the work of chief ministers of Maharashtra from the first CM Yashwantrao Chavan to the incumbent Devendra Fadnavis, Pawar said each one of them have contributed to development of the state since its formation in 1960.
"Maharashtra was formed out of struggle. Even if Maharashtra has completed 65 years of its existence, here is one regret in our hearts. Even today, the Marathi manoos (Marathi-speaking people) of Belgaum and Karwar are still not with us. The case is going on in the Supreme Court.
"The day they are merged with Maharashtra, we can confidently said Maharashtra is now complete," he said.
Maharashtra has been demanding that Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka -- Belgaum, Karwar, Nipani -- be merged with the state, a stand strongly opposed by the southern state.
Pawar noted India's population in 1947 was 35 crore, but it has now multiplied four times to 140 crore. The population of the state has also increased accordingly, he said.
He emphasised that those in power now and in the past have been working to address the water woes of Maharashtra, but with a growing population, the sources have become limited.
The deputy CM said some people oppose the bullet train project in India, but China and Japan have progressed because of such high-speed transport modes.
The erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government (November 2019-June 2022) had stopped the bullet train project connecting Mumbai to Ahmedabad which is currently under construction.
