The Karnataka State Contractors' Association (KSCA) has issued a blunt ultimatum to the Siddaramaiah government: clear the staggering ₹37,370 crore in unpaid bills or face a total shutdown of infrastructure projects across the state. At a press conference on Friday, KSCA President R Manjunath warned that if the government doesn't come to the table with a plan for a phased release of funds, contractors will drop their tools and launch a statewide protest starting March 5.
Manjunath didn't mince words, directly addressing the Chief Minister with a warning not to "provoke" the association further. The group is now planning to take its grievances beyond the state borders, seeking intervention from top Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, as well as Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot. According to the association’s breakdown, the debt is spread across several key sectors, with the Water Resources Department sitting on a massive ₹13,000 crore in arrears and the Public Works Department owing another ₹8,370 crore.
Beyond the financial crunch, the association is once again raising the specter of systemic corruption. General Secretary GM Nandakumar alleged that middlemen are now pulling the strings on tender approvals, particularly within the Urban Development Department. It’s a stinging accusation for a government that swept to power largely by weaponising similar "40 per cent commission" allegations against the previous Bharatiya Janata Party administration— a campaign the KSCA itself helped fuel by writing to the Prime Minister at the time.
The government, however, is pushing back hard. Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh dismissed the claims as "shooting in the air," insisting that the contracting process is entirely transparent and free from ministerial interference. Suresh retorted that the government has already been releasing funds in phases, including the recent payment of ₹200 crore, and dared the association to come up with concrete evidence of wrongdoing rather than just threatening in public statements. With the deadline of March 5 fast approaching, the impasse threatens to bring development activities to a grinding halt in the state of Karnataka, just as the political temperature in the state is about to escalate.
Also read: MUDA case: Lokayukta report clears Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
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