Dues of over Rs 96,000cr pushing contractors into crisis, govt ignoring Jal Jeevan Mission bills: Sena (UBT) MLC Danve

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve on Tuesday came down heavily on state govt during a discussion on supplementary demands in the state legislature, alleging that unpaid bills worth about Rs 96,400 crore had pushed contractors into severe financial stress, driving some to even take extreme steps like suicide.The MLC said contractors across departments like public works, water resources and water supply were struggling despite having completed govt projects, as payments remained pending. He claimed that at least four contractors, including Jal Jeevan Mission contractor Harshal Patil from Sangli and PV Verma from Nagpur, died by suicide owing to mounting financial pressure linked to unpaid dues. “Contractors have completed their work but are not being paid.

This is an extremely serious issue,” he said.Highlighting the Jal Jeevan Mission as one of the worst-affected sectors, Danve said of nearly 51,000 sanctioned projects in Maharashtra, around 24,000 had been completed while about 26,000 were pending. He said the scheme was facing liabilities of nearly Rs 35,000 crore and required an additional Rs 6,800 crore to complete ongoing works and maintain finished projects.

He, however, alleged that the supplementary budget did not provide adequate funds for the scheme.He stressed the need for state govt to take greater financial responsibility, particularly as central assistance beyond 2024 remained uncertain.Expanding his criticism, Danve accused govt of ignoring Marathwada and Vidarbha, saying irrigation projects in these regions continued to suffer from a lack of funding.

According to him, around Rs 2.85 lakh crore is needed to address the irrigation backlog, while several river-linking projects remain limited to announcements without even basic survey work being completed.He further cited specific examples of delays, including the Rs 887-crore Vaijapur-Gangapur Water Grid project, which he said had stalled due to inadequate funds. He said the Jintur-Manwat-Dudhana irrigation project was unable to utilise nearly 80 million cubic metres of water because just Rs 17 lakh had not been released for pending land measurement work.Danve further criticised govt’s handling of key sectors like education, healthcare and rural development. He alleged reduced allocations for the “One State, One Uniform” scheme, inadequate infrastructure in govt hospitals and stalled development work in villages due to gram panchayat administrators being appointed without financial powers.He urged govt to immediately clear contractors’ dues and allocate sufficient funds for critical infrastructure projects instead of making what he described as “lofty development claims”.