Representative image with the word 'suicide'.
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Mumbai: In a shocking incident, a 35-year-old contractor from Sangli district of Maharashtra — with pending dues to the tune of Rs 1.40 crore for works under the Jal Jeevan Mission — allegedly died by suicide.
Farmers were committing suicide, and now the BJP-led Maha Yuti government has brought contractors to the point of suicide as well, leaders of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi said.
However, the Devendra Fadnavis-led dispensation claimed that Patil was a sub-contractor engaged by a contractor and nothing was pending from the government’s side to the deceased.
The victim was identified as Harshal Patil, who hailed from Tandulwadi village in Walwa tehsil of Sangli district.
“Harshal Patil, a young and ambitious engineer-contractor from Walwa tehsil, took his own life, fed up with the government's harassment and corruption, as he was not receiving payments from the government for the work done under the Jal Jeevan Mission. This is an extremely tragic incident,” said senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil, an eight-time MLA from Islampur in Sangli district.
“Tired of the government's false promises of providing employment, the children of ordinary farmers turned to contract workers. The government has dashed the dreams of youths who were striving to build their own world through their hard work. The state government, in order to win elections, distributed various contracts despite having no funds in the treasury. Today, contractors across the state are pleading and protesting at the government's doorstep to receive their pending payments. This is not the situation of just one department but of all departments. The government seems to have no regard for the fact that a contractor does not support just one household but also the families of many workers who depend on them,” said Patil, a former state Home Minister and ex Finance Minister.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Fadnavis, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said: "Under Jal Jeevan Mission, he completed work worth Rs 1.4 crore, taking a loan of Rs 80 lakh. But the government hasn’t paid his dues, forcing him to take this extreme step! Many Harshal Patils are dying by suicide daily in Maharashtra! The government is committing these murders. Why are you praising the Fadnavis government?”
“Farmers were committing suicide, and now this government has brought contractors to the point of suicide as well. A red carpet for big contractors, while small contractors’ bills are being delayed—is this the government’s justice? Is it because priority is given to a select few favourite contractors that small contractors are facing this situation? It is clear that the state’s treasury is empty. The financial discipline has collapsed—will the Finance Minister and the government still deny this truth or take responsibility,” asked Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar.
Reacting to the charges, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is also the state Finance Minister, said: “I spoke to officials. However, he was not engaged as a government contractor. Perhaps, he was a sub-contractor. However, every death and suicide is sad…the police is investigating the matter…call detail records would be checked, reasons would be found out.
Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil clarified that no work is registered in Harshal Patil's name, no bill is pending under the scheme, and there is no record of his work with the Sangli Zilla Parishad.
The development comes at a time when there are reports that collective bills of over Rs 90,000 crore are outstanding with the Maharashtra government which are due to contractors.
Maharashtra State Contractors’ Association (MSCA) President Dilip Bhosale said that it is a sad incident and the government must take cognizance of it.