Builders’ body defers ‘Chalo Hyderabad’ protest after Dy CM’s assurance

The Builders Association of India has deferred its Chalo Hyderabad protest after Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka assured small civil contractors that their long-pending dues would be cleared on priority.

Hyderabad: The Builders Association of India (BAI), state unit has postponed its ‘Chalo Hyderabad’ protest programme scheduled on Thursday after Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka assured them that he would address the small civil contractors issues on priority.

On Tuesday, representatives of the Builders Association of India and civil contractors met the Deputy Chief Minister at Praja Bhavan. During the meeting, they requested the release of their pending dues, totalling to nearly Rs.20,000 crore.

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The Deputy Chief Minister assured them that bills worth Rs. 25 lakh to Rs.1 crore would be cleared within a month. Among all the bills, roads contractors’ pending bills amount to Rs. 7,000 crore, said BAI member DVN Reddy.

“Following Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s assurance, we have decided to postpone our protest programme. We will take a call after three months, if the government fails to deliver its promise,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the contractors had held discussions with Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy.