Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) members staged a walkout from the Assembly on Thursday over what they termed the looming crisis on the public works front following the government’s failure to clear contractors’ bill arrears.
The Opposition, which moved an adjournment on the issue, said public works in the State were at a stand still as the government had not cleared bills totalling Rs.2,500 crore. Seeking a leave for the motion, Mullakkara Rathnakaran (CPI) said the government had not made any move to clear the bills despite the contractors threatening not to take up any new work from July 15. They were also finding the going tough on account of shortage of sand, he said.
Rejecting the Opposition contentions, Labour Minister Shibu Baby John said the bill arrears did not amount to as much as was being made out by the Opposition. The government had cleared bill arrears up to September last and owed the contractors Rs.1,400 crore. The amount due to the contractors always stood between Rs.800 and Rs.1,000 crore. The government would take steps to clear the arrears, he said. Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan said the contractors were on the verge of suicide.
