Siliguri, 11th February: A two-day sit-in protest programme has been undertaken in Siliguri demanding payment of pending dues for various projects under the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department. The programme has been called by the All Bengal PHE Contractors’ Association (Civil) and organised by the Siliguri PHE Contractors’ Welfare Association.
The association alleged that a substantial amount of bills for works executed under the Jal Jeevan Mission since 2022 remain unpaid. Despite completing the work as per agreement terms and scheduled timelines, the dues have not been cleared. Protesters have demanded immediate settlement of all outstanding bills along with release of part security.
Association president Anup Basu stated that contractors have been working on the Jal Jeevan project for nearly 19 months but have not received a significant portion of their payments. He claimed that in Siliguri alone, approximately ₹100 crore remains pending.
Many contractors, he added, had taken bank loans to execute the projects and are now facing severe financial distress due to non-payment.
The protesters warned that work will remain suspended until the pending dues are cleared and stated that a larger movement will be launched in the coming days if their demands are not met.