Even as the first batch of the jets is supposedly scheduled to arrive in September 2019, hangars that will house the jets are in a sticky situation. As per a report in The Hindu, the Military Engineer Services Builders Association of India (MESBAI) warned on January 28 that the construction of hangars would be affected if the Defence Ministry doesn’t clear pending dues worth Rs 2,000 crore.
The Navbharat Times reported that even as hangars and other infrastructure are being prepared at Ambala in Haryana and the Hashimara Air Force Station in West Bengal, due to the failure of contractors in completing necessary payment, the work has been running very slow for the last six months.
Praveen Mahana, the president of the MESBAI at a press conference, said that while 40 to 50 per cent of the work is already complete, the project was scheduled to be completed by April or May in 2109.
“We are making the hangars in Ambala and Hashimara. In the past seven or eight months, the work has slowed down, and in the past two or three months, it has stopped because of a shortage of funds. We have been continuing work by taking loans. Now banks are refusing loans,” Mahana told the press.
The Hindu reported that as per association members, payments had been delayed over past few years and totalled Rs 1,600 crore as on December 2016, despite the issue being raised at different levels, including the Defence Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office. The dues now stand at approximately Rs 2,000 crore.
On January 16, the Engineer-in-Chief told the association that Rs 250 crore would be released in the next few days, but on January 18, they were told that the funds were diverted to Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). If they did not receive payment in the next 15 days, said Mahana, they would be forced to stop all essential work across the country and would stage a protest outside Parliament.
The Construction of Rafale hangars isn’t the only work that has slowed down due to non-payment. As per reports in News18, construction of houses for army personnel in Jammu and Kashmir has also stopped. Karan Kapoor, President (Northern Region) of the MESBAI, said that construction of houses for soldiers in Kargil, Leh, Poonch, Baramulla, Rajouri, Doda and Srinagar have stopped due to non-payment of dues to the contractors for about six months. Kapoor added that the working season ranges from April to October, and if the outstanding payment is not made, then there would be no work this season.
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