Festival time is approaching. Durga pujah then Deewali and Ningol chakkouba. Naturally expectations of state Government doling out benefits in the form of releasing employees’ bonus and contractors’ held up bill is very high. Small time contractors who worked under the IFCD are in deep trouble. River banks were strengthened with the addition of retaining walls. The roads were also widened since the addition of the walls. Engineers too had got their share for allocation of woks. The Government too is happy for it had done something for the river side dwellers, who were worried over the impending threat of depression of river banks. But the contractors have landed in a precarious condition. The amount spent in the construction of the retaining walls of the river taken up under the Brahmaputra Board is not released in full. Contractors are hoping against hope that they will get the remaining amount in the very near future precisely before the onset of the festival time. IFCD has gained the notorious image of holding back contractors’ bill. Recognised contractors have refused to take up construction work launched by the department. But the retaining wall construction programme was a centrally funded project therefore many joined the construction spree taken up across the length and breadth of the state. Nevertheless as expected bills have not been cleared though the construction had been completed long time back. When the bills are not released in time social unrest is created and family fabric lay shattered. Unable to find adequate amount required for the construction of the retaining wall the poor contractors mortgaged gold jewelleries of the family members some even mortgaged ancestral homestead land to invest in the construction of the retaining wall. Just imagine the plight of the poor contractors, who spent sleepless night in supervising the work to ensure that the walls remain intact during the torrential rain when the river would be in spate. What they have got in return for the work done. The ugly title nobody desires to be in life money debtor. Some gullible contractors even bought the work order from the influential men. The IFCD is warned against taking up such programme if at the end the department would not clear the contractors’ bill. The Planning Commission as it released plan money emphasised the need for involvement of private partners in taking up Government programmes. The matter is serious as it will discourage the unemployed youths from doing contract work under the Government of Manipur. But the Government cannot provide job to all educated persons. Such attitude of holding back small time contractors’ payment defeats the very purpose the Government envisages to enthuse in the minds of the unemployed youths. Pull up all the files from the concerned department to see what is happening in the department. The heart aches and stomach burns when one tries to fathom the sufferings handed down to the unemployed sections by the Government. Show sympathy to them. They need to survive and purely for survival they did what they did. The fall out of the betrayal is beginning to be felt. When the MLAs wanted to take up retaining wall construction in their respective constituencies none came out to take up the job. The trust has been butchered. IFCD will require a lot of self introspection to regain the trust of the unemployed contractors.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/trust-has-been-butchered/
