Unpaid bills leave J&K contractors in limbo

Srinagar, Apr 3:  Thousands of contractors in Jammu and Kashmir who executed development works for the government were left in a precarious situation as pending payments worth hundreds of crores remained unsettled on the last day of the financial year 2023-24.

This prompted protests by contractors at government treasuries across the union territory.

J&K Contractors Coordination Committee Chairman Ghulam Jeelani Purza expressed concerns that the unpaid bills may lapse if not cleared before the new fiscal year.

“Bills worth hundreds of crores of rupees were dishonoured on March 31 as there were no funds in government treasuries," he said. "Contractors who took loans and owe money were left in a lurch as they could not get their pending payments released."

J&K Central Contractors Coordination Committee General Secretary Farooq Dar said, “Around 30 percent of bills are pending, though the government has been disposing of liabilities till now, unfortunately at the end of the fiscal year payments were not cleared which created resentment among contractors. We are thankful to LG Manoj Sinha and the Chief Secretary who intervened and assured us that the liabilities will be cleared in the first week of the current fiscal year.”

The Finance Department in a statement has blamed the crisis on bulging expenditure, stating that the J&K government has endeavoured to expand capital investments for infrastructure upgradation in key sectors like roads, power, tourism, and health.

This led to a substantial increase in capital expenditure from Rs 14,666 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 22,400 crore in 2023-24.

According to the government statement, improved utilisation of funds under centrally sponsored schemes and follow-up with central ministries ensured larger receipts, crossing Rs 10,300 crore in 2023-24 compared to Rs 6386 crore and Rs 5997 crore in the previous two fiscal years.

While acknowledging that some liabilities may have remained undischarged due to expenditure norms for prudent financial management, the J&K government has clarified that valid dues of contractors and suppliers would be processed in the 2024-25 financial year as per rules.

“Fresh bills will be prepared by the concerned DDOs in PaySys, referring to the unpaid bill numbers. These bills, both capital expenditure and revenue, will be entertained by the respective treasury officers for payment by debiting the current year's budget allocations, provided the bills were within the allocated budget for 2023-24 and were not paid due to the expenditure norms for the final quarter and final month.

A senior Finance Department official said that the government has assured that all duly incurred liabilities will be discharged in a time-bound manner, aiming to address the concerns of contractors and suppliers who contributed to infrastructure development and utility services in J&K.