By IANS
Ranchi : Extortion by Maoists is slowing down road construction work in Jharkhand, say contractors.
The state government Saturday met the contractors to discuss the speeding up of work but the fear of Maoists overshadowed the meeting. They blamed the rebels for the slow progress in road construction and also sought security from the government.
"The Maoist menace is posing a great hindrance to development work in the state, particularly to road construction works," said Umesh patil, a contractor.
Echoing his view, another contractor said: "We cannot think of carrying out road construction work without paying levies to Maoist rebels. If the levy is denied, the rebels abduct workers and destroy equipment, forcing us to stop work."
"The state government will soon constitute a committee in each district where the district police chief will look into such things and ensure security and safety to contractors and workers," said A.K. Singh, secretary, road and construction department.
But the builders were not impressed with the secretary's decision.
"Even the state government officials pay levy to the Maoists, how can they provide security to us?" a contractor, who did not wish to be named, asked.
"The contractors have to pay a six percent levy to the rebels and anyone who fails has to pay for it in other ways," he added.
Maoist rebels, who had launched their movement in 1967, now operate in about 13 Indian states. The armed conflict has so far killed thousands of people.