PWD owes Rs 6,863 crore to contractors

The Public Works Department has pending bills worth Rs 6,863 crore, which is 75% of its total outlay in the 2021-22 fiscal, according to government data tabled in the Legislature.

The department says that it plans to clear the pending dues based on seniority.

The dues are on works carried out under State Highway Development Project, Central Road Fund, National Highways and others.

"A circular is issued with guidelines required to be followed for payment of pending bills. Bills are being cleared based on seniority and priority," said Public Works Minister C C Patil.

Funds allocated to the department in the budget are being used to clear pending dues. Bills are being paid based on the delegation of financial powers to the department heads by the Finance Department, Patil stated in his written reply.

While the pending dues are Rs 6,863 crore, budget allocation for PWD for the 2022-23 fiscal is Rs 9,623 crore. In the three fiscals starting 2019-20, the department received funds worth Rs 9,058 crore, Rs 10,856 crore and Rs 8,940 crore, respectively.

It can be recalled that pending dues to contractors for various government projects had triggered a major controversy recently.

Members of the Karnataka State Contractors' Association had alleged that bribes worth Rs 40% of the project cost sought for government projects, blaming it as one of the reasons for the delay in clearing bills.

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