PWD roads contractors protest sharp hike in registration fees, urge CM to reconsider
A state-level association is in the works as contractors plan further action and appeal directly to the Chief Minister.;
A PWD road construction work in progress (Photo: @himantabiswa / X)
Guwahati, April 26: Nearly 150 PWD Roads contractors from across the State met here recently to discuss the recent hike in registration fee, and appealed to the government to revoke it.
Contractors from Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Jorhat, Nagaon, Nalbari, Hailakandi, Karimganj etc., attended the meeting.
"The contractors have appealed to the Chief Minister to withdraw the decision," general secretary of the Greater Guwahati Road Division Contractors Association secretary Niranjan Barman said.
A convening committee was also formed to constitute a full-fledged State-level association. The contractors said another meeting will be held soon to decide on the next course of action.
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).