Alleging graft in Ludhiana MC, contractors boycott road construction works in Ludhiana

Ludhiana, August 24

Alleging ‘corruption’ in the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC), contractors associated with the Ludhiana Hotmix Plant Welfare Association announced to boycott road construction works (bitumen based) in the city.

The association members conducted a meeting today and announced to boycott works regarding road projects. They also demanded a vigilance inquiry into the “prevailing corruption” in the civic body and sought action against some B&R branch officials. The contractors are also unhappy since they have been directed to place financial bids for at least 6 per cent lesser amount of the estimate prepared by the MC.

Association president Vinod Jain alleged, “To get our pending payments, we were earlier forced to pay a 3 per cent commission to the officials concerned. Moreover, the government has fixed an estimated amount for tenders but the guidelines are being ignored. There is no transparency in the tendering process as the works are allocated to a few contractors being supported by MC officials.” Jain said, “We demand that the Vigilance Bureau conducts an inquiry into the working of the Ludhiana MC.”

Ahead of the Assembly elections, the civic body had to start road re-carpeting works in various areas. The contractors claimed that works worth Rs 200 crore would get affected due to the boycott.

Meanwhile, Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu claimed that the contractors were levelling false allegations. “These contractors want to blackmail and loot the MC. But, they will not be allowed to do so. I will expose these contractors with evidence soon.” — TNS

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