Govt. to clear pending bills amounting to ₹2,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh government to clear ₹2,000 crore pending bills, with 90% going to small contractors, boosting financial stability.

VIJAYAWADA

The Government of Andhra Pradesh will be clearing pending bills amounting to nearly ₹2,000 crore in the days to come, a vast chunk of it (90%) to small contractors. The money will be paid to a total 17,000 contractors who have executed various works in 2019-24.

A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting convened by Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav with the department officials on Sunday.

According to an official release, steps were taken to make the payments to 9,000 small contractors and 8,000 beneficiaries of the Neeru-Chettu scheme in the ‘first in, first out’ method to the extent possible.

Priority would be given to bills below ₹1 crore in making the payments. Funds would also be released for irrigation maintenance bills and the Polavaram project.

On the occasion, Mr. Keshav said efforts were being made to stabilise the financial system under the guidance of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, as part of which the bills were being cleared in spite of the constraints faced by the government.

He said that these payments would help in bringing the State’s financial system back on track. The bills were pending for the last three to four years.