Contractors choose to take the Maharashtra government to court regarding ‘Rs 89,000 crore payments owed.’

Contractors from Maharashtra are preparing to take the state government to the Bombay High Court regarding the “non-payment of bills totaling Rs 89,000 crore for infrastructure projects in the state.” The contractors’ representative organization has declared its intention to submit petitions to the HC benches in Mumbai, Nagpur, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

“At a time when our pending payout from the government is around Rs 89,000 crore, the state government is merely releasing Rs 4,000 crore. The Maharashtra State Contractors Association and the State Engineers Association held a state-level meeting in Thane and took a decision to drag the government to court,” said Miling Bhosle, state president of the contractors’ association. The meeting was held in Thane on Friday.

Both organizations have been requesting their payments from the government since the previous year. In February, they sent a letter to high-ranking officials in the state, cautioning to halt all current infrastructure projects as payments totaling Rs 89,000 crore from various departments are reportedly overdue since July 2024. Although the contractors have ceased operations progressively throughout the state, they have still not received payment.

The contractors’ “Rs 89,000 crore outstanding payments” consist of Rs 46,000 crore owed by the state Public Works Department (PWD), Rs 18,000 crore from the Jal Jeevan Mission related to the Water Supply and Sanitation department, Rs 8,600 crore from the Rural Development department, Rs 19,700 crore from the Irrigation department, and Rs 1,700 crore for tasks completed under the DPDC, MLA fund, and MP fund.

Miling Bhosle stated that the Rs 4,000 crore allocated in March accounted for only 5 percent of the overall dues, making it unfeasible for contractors to proceed with the projects with such minimal funding. He mentioned that no minister, even the chief minister, is willing to discuss this.

In February, State PWD Minister Shivendraraje Bhosle mentioned that he requested the immediate release of Rs 10,000 crore for contractors who had been on strike for a week due to unpaid dues.