“The State government has no intention of delaying payment of bills of contractors. We will pay the bills of all contractors who have completed works on time, as per the quality norms,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in Belagavi on Friday.
He told journalists at the airport in Sambra that the BJP government has left huge amounts of unpaid bills in various departments and they need to be verified before their payments are released.
“We have formed a judicial inquiry committee and four other committees to look into these bills. They will consider all aspects like the procedure of award, execution of work, time taken and other things. Once the committees approve them, we will release the payments. We do not want to create troubles for anyone,” the Chief Minister said.
“However, if there are irregularities, all those involved will face legal action,” he said.
“The BJP government has not paid bills for two-three years. We have assumed power a few months ago. How can you expect us to pay all those bills without studying them properly,” he said.
To a query, he said that Kempanna, president of the association of contractors, has not made any allegation against the Congress government about anyone demanding a commission to release payment for bills.
“He has only asked for speedy approval of payments and we have assured the association that money will be released after due procedure,” he said.
“Why do BJP leaders think that contractors are talking about commission? We are not seeking any commission. We are committed to taking action against those who sought commission in the past,” he said.
