Contractor Locks Danavaigudem School Over Rs 11 Lakh Pending Dues
On Monday, a contractor and her family locked the gates of the Mandal Parishad Primary School (MPPS) in Danavaigudem, Khammam Rural, staging a protest to demand the clearance of pending dues for construction works completed under a state government programme.
The contractor, Ch Nagamani, who is also the former chairman of the school’s School Management Committee, protested alongside her husband Ayodhya and their four children. The family blocked access to the school premises, alleging that the government has failed to clear bills for works executed nearly four years ago under the Mana Ooru, Mana Badi programme.
According to the school’s former headmaster, B Nagendramma, under whose tenure the development works were executed, Nagamani is yet to receive approximately Rs 11 lakh out of a total project cost of Rs 21 lakh. Nagendramma confirmed that the construction work was fully completed and that she had personally cleared the necessary approvals, yet the state government has failed to release the remaining funds.
Ayodhya, a differently-abled person from a marginalised background, and Nagamani had taken up the school upgrade works during the first phase of the Mana Ooru, Mana Badi initiative. During the protest on Monday, Nagamani threatened to die by suicide if their dues were not cleared immediately.
The protest disrupted daily operations at the Mandal Parishad Primary School, drawing attention to the long-delayed payments. The works at this particular school were taken up in the very first phase of the government's school development programme, meaning the family has been waiting for their money for years.
The protest in Danavaigudem highlights a broader financial crisis affecting small-scale contractors across Telangana. Under the Mana Ooru, Mana Badi programme, the state government currently owes approximately Rs 500 crore to about 1,500 small contractors who completed school infrastructure works but are still awaiting their final payments.
This incident follows a similar protest a couple of months ago in Rajanna Sircilla district, where a former sarpanch and her husband also locked a government school over unpaid bills.
