Madurai: The Builders Association of India asked builders, implementing government contracts, to boycott the projects and not take part in tenders till their demands are met.

The builders wanted government to increase their rate in proportion to the rise in cost of construction materials.

Association President Murugan said on Thursday that there should be unity among the builders in boycotting government works till their demands were met.

Demanding that the age-old contract conditions be modified and market driven, former Association President V Ramachandran said construction of 105 bridges in Tamil Nadu had been affected due to steep escalation in the cost of construction materials and labour charges.

There was no escalation clause leading to financial loss for the contractors, he said, adding that the recent amendments brought in the Tamil Nadu Government contract conditions were not practical. In the state alone 2,000 projects had been held-up because of this, he said.

He also pointed out that in many cases of abandoned projects, the award given by the court was much more than the claim of the contractors.

The growth of construction work which was 16.5 per cent three years back was down to nine per cent, he said and added that the railway works, which accounted for 90 per cent of the total task, were now held up due to cost escalation.
Source : PTI