Hyderabad: GHMC contractors on Monday, May 20, staged a protest at the corporation’s head office demanding to pay their overdue bills to be cleared.
Raising slogans like “No payment, No work”, they threatened to stop working on all the civic maintenance projects across Hyderabad.
Speaking to the media, they said, “With delay in payments, all these works are being carried out by taking loans against their wife’s gold ornaments.” They expressed their difficulty paying salaries to their employees while suffering financial losses.
They further added, “This is not a free scheme. We have worked hard for it, and the government needs to clear the payment as soon as possible; if not, the citizens will suffer as all monsoon-related work will be halted until they are paid.”
GHMC contractors mentioned that at least four of their employee’s have lost their lives due to heart attacks in the last year.
One of the contractor pointed out to the media that, “The GHMC commissioner is not willing to listen to us” According to them, bills of Rs. 1,350 crore had not yet been cleared. On several occasions, the issue of pending bills was discussed with the GHMC officials and Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, yet it remained unresolved.
Similar protests were held at other zonal and circle-level offices across the city.
