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Published Aug 19, 2025 | 5:59 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 19, 2025 | 5:59 PM
Telangana Dy CM and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
Synopsis: The contractors organised the flash protest demanding the clearing of pending bills of works taken under the Mana Ooru Mana Badi scheme.
It was a normal day at the Telangana Secretariat on Monday, 18 August, until a group of contractors sneaked in one by one and converged outside the office of Finance Secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania.
The ‘military-like’ precision with which the contractors sneaked in unnoticed took all unawares. On reaching outside the Finance Secretary’s office, they raised their demand: Clear the pending bills to the tune of ₹369 crore.
The government had defaulted in clearing the bills for the works executed as part of the Mana Ooru Mana Badi, a scheme launched to upgrade state-run schools.
The sudden and unexpected ruckus a few steps from Finance Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka startled the officials. A brief standoff ensued, warranting police intervention. The contractors insisted that they were not protesting, but seeking an audience with the minister to submit a representation.
Quick parleys followed amidst a heated exchange of words. Finally, four people, representing the contractors, were allowed into the minister’s chamber.
The minister listened to them and assured them to address their grievance at the earliest. He, however, did not set a deadline for clearing their dues. The “same old assurance” did not satisfy the contractors.
Many of them said bills dating even back to two years have been pending, choking their business, and pushing some into debt. While most dues were cleared until June 2023 under the previous BRS government, payments reportedly stalled after the election notification.
This is not their first showdown with the government. On 7 March, nearly 200 contractors had staged a sit-in outside Vikramarka’s chamber on the same issue. They also accused officials of demanding up to a 20% commission to release payments. They alleged that politically connected firms had their bills processed smoothly.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), always ready to go for the Congress’s jugular, accused the government of running a “Commission Raj.” Its leaders alleged that the administration clears payments only for influential contractors while sidelining small and marginal players.
In their quest for justice, the contractors have approached everyone from the School Education Commissioner to the Legislative Council.
Barely two weeks before Monday’s protest, they knocked on the doors of the Education Commissioner’s office, where they were promised payment within 15–20 days—a promise that fell flat. Even Legislative Council Chairman Gutha Sukhender Reddy wrote to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, urging him to release the funds to ease their distress.
With ₹369 crore still stuck in limbo, contractors said their patience was running out.
The state government, meanwhile, maintained that it inherited a “mountain of unpaid bills” from the previous BRS regime and was struggling to clear them amid financial strain. For the contractors, the wait is only getting longer—and their agitation louder.
