About MPCCA

During the meeting, by unanimous consent, Mr. Ashish Kharaya, Bhopal, was appointed as the Working President.

A delegation of the Association met the Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works Department, Mr. Sukhbir Singh, Hon’ble Public Works Minister Mr. Rakesh Singh, and the Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department to inform them about the serious issues being faced in the construction sector, including

• Financial losses being suffered by contractors due to non-granting of escalation in construction works below ₹10 crore despite the increase in bitumen/petroleum prices caused by the Iran-Israel war.
• Delays in payments.
• Pending payments due to execution of work beyond the approved amount and non-increase of IDs/approvals for the past 6–7 months.
• Pressure to carry out “Lok Sarovar Construction” works under the government’s public welfare schemes without payment, while the government takes credit for such works.

The memorandum prepared during the meeting was submitted to Hon’ble Minister Mr. Prahlad Singh Patel, the Chief Executive Officer of PMGSY, and the Chief Engineer of PMGSY.

The major issues raised by the Association are as follows:

• The unnecessary demand for bitumen refinery bills in old works should be discontinued.
• Delays in maintenance and final payments should be removed and timely payments ensured.
• Monthly review meetings through video conferencing should be made mandatory.
• Mineral royalty verification should be simplified and made transparent.
• Tenders should be issued only after land availability is ensured.
• Collective responsibility should be fixed in SQM/NQM inspections.
• Contract conditions should be simplified.
• Delays in post-DLP approvals should be eliminated.
• Contractors should be provided with a respectful, transparent, and fair working environment.
• The practice of extending the DLP period based on Zero Payment should be abolished.

The Association stated that these issues are adversely affecting both the speed and quality of rural road construction. It also requested policy-level decisions against contract-violating and unconstitutional orders issued by departments against contractors, and urged that the Association be consulted on such matters.

Finally, the Association appealed to the government to take prompt and positive decisions on these issues to protect the interests of contractors and ensure transparency in execution of works.