Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 08 2010:
The Manipur Hills and Plain Contractors' Association has appealed to all underground outfits to stop taking contract works in the name of their 'projects' as well as to give up the practice of percentage deduction from this year itself.
A press release issued by the Manipur Hills and Plain Contractors' Association said that in addition to UG outfits, relevant Government officials have been deducting certain percentages while issuing work orders and by-cheques.
Because of all these deductions, no contractor is able to execute any contract work properly.
To enable contractors execute contract works keeping due standard, Ministers, MLAs and tops officials of departments should do away with the practice of conducting 'restricted tender' by choosing only their near and dear ones.
It also appealed to all concerned to abolish the practice of deducting certain percentage of amounts at the time of approving tender and issuing by-cheques.
The association further appealed to all UG groups to stop the practice of holding contract works in the name of 'project'.
Some UG groups deduct certain percentages at the time of issuing work orders and by-cheques while some others deduct their percentage of bill amounts at the time of issuing by-cheques.
Recently, another group has come up with the declaration that they would neither take contract works nor deduct any percentage but would collect 5 per cent of the estimated amount as penalty if any contract work is found executed without maintaining due quality.
Appealing to all UG outfits to stop deducting percentages from 2010, the contractors' association urged upon all the outfits of unite together, in case they must go on deducting percentages.
In case, they should continue deducting percentages, let it be 2 percent by only one party for each contract work, it added.