Bengaluru, April 11 (UNI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday distanced himself from the controversy surrounding unpaid contractor bills worth over Rs 1 lakh crore, blaming the crisis on the "financial indiscipline" of the previous BJP government.
The Congress leader claimed that many of these works were initiated without any sanctioned budget by the previous BJP led government, and warned that neither he nor any political family associated with the Congress is responsible for the delays in payment.
"Don’t blame us — we warned you, and there is no budget. If you have complaints, go to the Lokayukta," Shivakumar said, while responding to reports of contractors lobbying legislators and party leaders to get the pending dues released.
According to Shivakumar, his department has been able to clear only 10 to 15 per cent of the works that fall under the Feasibility Study Report (FSR) category, as the remaining projects were taken up during the BJP regime without financial approval.
"Some contractors are requesting our MLAs to help clear pending bills for works executed in their constituencies. But these works — worth over Rs 1 lakh crore — were undertaken during the previous BJP government, most of them without proper budgetary backing," he alleged.
He claimed that he had personally warned contractors well in advance to not take up works that had not received formal financial sanction. "I had warned contractors six months, seven months, even a year ago — before the BJP lost power — not to take up such projects. I personally cautioned them," he said.
Despite those warnings, Shivakumar said, contractors went ahead with the works, and are now applying pressure through MLAs and senior leaders to push for payments. "I have received many letters saying 'please clear bills in my constituency, the contractors are waiting.' But the fact is — there is no budget for most of these works," he added.
In response to murmurs about the involvement of prominent political families in the alleged irregularities, Shivakumar issued a categorical denial. "Let me be clear — neither Satish Jarkiholi’s family nor Boseraj’s family is involved in any of these matters. If anyone has complaints, they should file them with the Lokayukta," he said.
He said attempts to politicise the issue were deliberate distractions and stressed the need to address the root cause: unplanned and unauthorised works during the BJP regime.
The Deputy Chief Minister did not spare the contractors either. He said they were also responsible for the current situation, having taken up work without due diligence on funding availability.
"Contractors know how much the department's budget is. Yet, many went ahead without checking whether there were funds available for their work. That is also their fault," he said.
He added that contractor associations had failed to maintain transparency and structure in how grievances were raised and works were coordinated. "Even the contractors association lacks clarity — there is no proper system in place." he remarked.
The timing of Shivakumar’s remarks comes amid heightened political heat, with opposition leaders accusing the Congress government of delaying payments and paralysing infrastructure work. BJP leaders have also threatened statewide protests if the dues are not cleared soon.
UNI BDN RN