The State government has introduced a clause in tender documents stating that no contractor can go to any court of law seeking legal remedy over unpaid dues from the government, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) former MLA and its State unit vice-president Vishnu Kumar Raju alleged on Wednesday.
According to him, the clause states: “Special condition of note: the payment of bills will be made based on the availability of plough back funds. In case of any delay in payment, the contracting agency shall have no right to challenge in the court of law. Only such contractors who can wait till realisation of bills without approaching the honourable courts only need to bid for the works.”
“Nowhere in the world has such a clause been mentioned in any tender document,” the BJP leader said while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.
“This indicates that while a contractor will be asked to deliver the project on time, he shall have no right to demand payment even if the delay spans from 10 months to 10 years. This is an atrocious move by the government,” he alleged.
This clause is detrimental and no contractor will come forward to execute any contract, he said.
“If there is a shortage of funds, the government can specify the time schedule of the payment, but cannot dictate that one cannot approach the court of law,” he said.
‘Suspicious move’
Mr. Raju hinted that he smells a scam in the alleged move by the government. “It appears that the YSR Congress-led government is trying to scare away contractors and pave the way for only those contractors who are affliliated to the party or its leaders,” he said.
Demanding that the clause be immediately withdrawn from the tender documents, he pointed out that contractors in the State were suffering due to non-release of dues for the past couple of years.
The payments to the contractors in all departments, including GVMC, have been pending for years. Despite the Union Government having released its payment component for the work done under PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) housing scheme, the payments are pending with the State government from the past two-and-a-half years, Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju said.
