Nagpur: Angry members of Nagpur Municipal Corporation Contractors’ Welfare Association (NMC-CWA) on Thursday organized a ‘bheek maango andolan’. Several contractors begged on the premises of Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s headquarters in Civil Lines and street in front of the civic body as part of the protest against non-payment of dues.
Despite repeated reminders, the NMC has failed to clear the dues since March 2018 and it has already crossed Rs300 crore, said association president Vijay Nayudu. Following this, the NMC-CWA launched the agitation from October 9.
The agitating contractors raised around Rs1,460 for the civic body, Nayudu said.
Nayudu said the ‘bheek mango andolan’ will continue on Friday too and later they plan to handover the cash collected to mayor Nanda Jichkar.
To showcase their plight, the agitating contractors held banners criticizing BJP ruled NMC. The contractors also stopped vehicular movement and begged from motorists. However, few motorists gave money, while many expressed their anguish against the ruling party for pathetic condition of city roads and other deteriorating civic issues.
The NMC has undertaken various measures to attain Smart City status, but civic contractors, who play a major role in carrying out various development works, have been denied of their payments, they said.
According to them, the NMC has been turning a blind eye towards the contractors’ bills. As a result, all civic contractors are finding it difficult to pay even school fees of their kids and colleges apart from not celebrating Dussera, Diwali and Eid festivals.
Despite BJP government in the State and Centre, the NMC has failed to get its goods and services tax grants revised. The NMC’s financial condition is deteriorating. If BJP is not capable to run the civic body smoothly, then the government should dissolve it and instead appoint an administrator, demanded the contractors.
“If their dues are not paid before Dussera, we will launch anti-BJP campaign in the city,” they threatened.