KOCHI: Protesting against the delay in clearing dues of about Rs 18 crore, the contractors who undertook the work of the Kochi Corporation are planning to stage a protest in front of the Corporation office soon. The civic body had said that the dues will be settled before June."Around 200 contractors are facing hardships due to the non-payment of dues by the civic authorities," Kochi Contractors Association president M R Chandran Pillai said. "According to our records, the Kochi Corporation owes us Rs 24 crore of which only Rs 6 crore has been settled. However, the new council had assured us that they will settle the amount by May. But nothing has happened so far," Chandran Pillai said."The contractors are already struggling owing to the increase in the cost of construction materials. We are not in a position to undertake any new work owing to the non-payment. If the situation does not change, the contractors will have to organise protest strikes," said Chandran Pillai. He said that a majority of contract works were done during the term of the previous council. "It was after organising an indefinite strike that the contractors somehow managed to make the civic body pay them Rs 6 crore," he said. The association is also planning to organise a token strike in June if the Corporation fails to take any positive step by then.
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