SWAT: All Swat Contractors Association alleged that the provincial finance department officials openly demanded a 15 per cent commission on the payment of their arrears, worth millions of rupees.

These allegations were levelled by president of the association Javed Khan along with others during a press conference at the Swat Press Club here the other day.

He stated that many important projects approved under the previous regime had been halted and they feared losing millions of rupees. He said that if their arrears were not cleared within one month, they would be forced to boycott all construction projects.

Mr Khan added that they had been facing severe financial difficulties for the last three years due to the non payments of their dues.

The contractors’ leader made it clear that they were not willing to place tenders for new projects until their arrears for completed projects were cleared.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2024