Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 11: Expressing concern over the pending payments of contractors for last more than a year, Contract Association of Estate Division (CAED), Jammu today urged the Government to release payments of their pending bills within a week’s time.
The issue was raised during a meeting of the association held here today under the chairmanship of its president, Sanjay Soi. The meeting criticized the Director Estates, J&K for ignoring contractors of Estates Division Jammu and depriving them of their due payments despite lapse of more than a year.
Addressing the meeting, Soi said that on the directions of the then Director Estates contractors completed the ongoing works well before the Darbar Move but it is unfortunate that their due payments have not been released in their favour despite repeated representations and requests.
Soi said that the contractors’ association is on dharna for past 29 days but the authorities of Estates Department did not bothered to look into the grievance of the contractors leaving them to suffer for want of their due payments, which are in crores.
He informed the meeting that Executive Engineer, States Division visited the dharna site only today and sought some time to redress their demands. However, the association president said that their dharna will continue till their payments are made.
Prominent among others who attended the meeting were Mohinder Singh, Rajinder Kumar, Raja Mehmood Ahmed, Satvinder Singh, Parveen Singh and Arun Sharma.