Former Minister and JD(S) leader H.D.Revanna has alleged that the State government released cleared bills of only select big contractors, ignoring many small contractors.

He told presspersons here on Monday that the government had paid a huge amount to one contractor, while many small contractors, who did the work pledging their jewellery, had been in facing difficulty. “Many contractors are in distress. The government should come to their rescue by clearing their pending bills”, he said.

He also accused the State government of taking a cut in the bill payments made to the contractors. “A contractor in Hassan alone has got his bill of ₹450 crore cleared. I will release the documents at an appropriate time. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had accused the previous government of indulging in corruption. Let him now tell the country how much bribe leaders of his party are taking in Karnataka”, he said.

Referring to Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa’s instruction to complete the construction of Shivamogga airport within six months, Mr. Revanna wanted to know why the government was not giving attention to the construction of the airport in Hassan.