Rajasthan averted an impending water supply crisis at the last moment Tuesday night after contractors working with the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) withdrew an earlier call to pull their workers over unpaid bills amounting to Rs 4,500 crore.
The reversal followed fresh negotiations between the All Rajasthan PHED Contractors Association (ARPCA) and the state government that continued late into the night.
Government's Assurance
“The government has agreed to release Rs 1,000 crore by June 25 and another Rs 1,000 crore by July 10. Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma personally assured us that all payments would be cleared,” said ARPCA member Papu Ram Dara.
With the association deciding to resume worker deployments following the negotiations, the prospect of debilitating disruptions to drinking water supplies across the state has been put off.
Official Statement
“Following constructive discussions with the govt of Rajasthan, the contractors’ association has taken back its earlier decision to withdraw workers and agreed to ensure the uninterrupted supply of drinking water across all schemes,” a press release issued by the PHED late Tuesday night said.
Earlier in the day, PHED contractors had announced their decision to withdraw their workforces due to unpaid bills amounting to Rs 4,500 crore. They had demanded that the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led BJP govt release at least Rs 2,000 crore of the outstanding amount immediately to help resume operations.
Contractors' Grievances
ARPCA president Om Prakash Bishnoi said the move to withdraw workers was in response to an April 22 agreement signed between three PHED chief engineers and representatives of the association, under which the state govt was supposed to clear all outstanding dues in instalments starting May.
“Forget about the entire payment, we didn’t receive a single penny after the agreement. We were compelled to announce the withdrawal of our workers as we have not been able to pay their salaries for months,” Bishnoi said.
Potential Impact
Before negotiations ended successfully, PHED officials were expecting critical impacts on water distribution across the state from Wednesday. Engineers said contractual workers were critical to daily operations, with many supply stations relying heavily on outsourced staff, and some functioning entirely through them.
“If they did not report for work, it would have been impossible for the govt to maintain water supplies with the help of just the PHED’s engineers and employees,” an engineer in the department said.
