Govt hikes PWD contractor registration fee; non-refundable clause sparks outrage

Guwahati, April 17: The State government has increased the registration fees of PWD Roads contractors by multiple times, and has made the amounts non-refundable. The move, initiated to increase revenue, has sparked resentment among the contractors.

The registration fee for Class I(A) contractors has been hiked from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. For the lower categories it has been fixed at Rs 2 lakh (up from Rs 1 lakh), Rs 1 lakh (up from Rs 50,000), Rs 50,000 (earlier Rs 25,000) and Rs 25,000 (up from Rs 10,000), the contractors said.

"Earlier, the registration fee was refundable. But now it has been made non-refundable. Moreover, there is no job guarantee even after paying the non-refundable amounts. Some Class I contractors have not even got Rs 50 lakh works in the last three years. How will they give such a huge registration fee?" a contractor alleged.

"There are GST, income tax and other payments as well. The PWD is not a revenue earning department. There are other revenue earning departments," he contended.

The Greater Guwahati Roads Division Contractors Association has called for a meeting with all contractors of the State to discuss the hike and are learnt to be contemplating on legal recourse.

There are around 3,000 Class I(A) contractors, 1,200 Class I(b) and 3,200 Class I(c) contractors with the Roads division. Besides, there are around 500 contractors in each circle and 200 in each division.

The contractors have also not received payments for several months. The government had assured to pay 15 per cent of the dues before Bihu, but only 7.5 per cent was disbursed.