Pending bill payments: Don’t drive contractors to suicide, Karnataka HC tells govt
Bengaluru, Nov 29: Hearing a contempt of court petition on pending bills not being paid, the High Court of Karnataka observed that, according to the government’s own records, two contractors have committed suicide and this cannot go on.
“Your records say, it is on record, that two of the contractors have committed suicide. It is on record; your record. Look into that. Don’t drive the contractors to the corner,” the HC said.
The division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit were hearing a contempt petition filed by M/s Nikshep Infra Projects against the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for not following an earlier order of the court to release payment for pending bills on works executed by the company.
In an earlier hearing, the BBMP had submitted that it was disbursing the due amount to various contractors as per "seniority" of the bills submitted.
The HC, citing its earlier interim order of October 30, 2023, said, “We are unable to understand this concept of BBMP for payment of bills," referring to the inordinate delay in payments for completed works.
The court further said, "In any welfare state, this cannot be a concept when there is no dispute with regard to the fact that a public body floated tender for certain work, successful bidder completes the work by following all the conditions of the work order and public body also admits that the work is duly completed but, still the successful bidder or the contractor is required to wait for the amount due and payable to him for an unreasonable time or has to run from pillar to post for his payment and ultimately.” The HC on Wednesday noted that there was no dispute about the contract.
"He was a successful bidder, completed the work and there was nothing on record to say that he had left the work midway and you had to call for another agency to complete the work. There is nothing of that sort. The case is very simple. After completing the work and considerable time, he approaches this court. You can’t say he has to wait," the court said.
“Is it your case that you don’t have money? Please answer. Why seniority?" the court questioned the BBMP counsel.
When the counsel cited some instances of fake bills, the HC said it was not because of the contractors.
"If you are really starting a clean-up operation, start it from your house. Let us know if any action is initiated against your officers. We have made it clear in our order and expected that some wisdom will prevail over the authority," the HC said.
When the BBMP counsel said that guidelines are being framed, the HC said this was its direction and cited its earlier order which said, “We expect and hope that the public bodies or the state undertakings or corporation body of the state henceforth consider the concern expressed by this court and try to avoid such situation, by issuing appropriate directions or framing guidelines." The hearing of the contempt petition was adjourned to December 13. Urban Development Department Secretary Ajay Nagabhushan MN, BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath, BBMP Chief Accounts Officer Vani, Malleshwaram Executive Engineer Jayashankar, and the State are the respondents in the petition.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
