In a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Sunetra Pawar and Eknath Shinde, industry bodies warned of a statewide halt to development works from April 7 if payments were not cleared.

Alleging arrears of Rs 96,400 crore, a joint letter was sent by the Maharashtra State Contractors Federation, State Engineers Association and Maharashtra State Water Supply Contractors Association.

“The new government took office in November 2024. While the financial budget was showered with mere promises, the state treasury is actually empty. During the previous fiscal year 2025-26, development works across various departments were not sanctioned, and even where some were approved, the government has become financially crippled. This is a grave matter,” the letter stated.

The associations claimed that arrears reduced only marginally over the past 17 months.

“This means that in 17 months, the government has paid only RS 20,000 crore to the 3 lakh contractors and developers in the state,” the letter said.

The letter further highlighted a slowdown in new projects.

“Furthermore, due to a lack of funds, local self-government bodies and municipal corporations have not initiated any new works,” it said.

Milind Bhosle, president of the contractors’ federation, said multiple representations had been made to the government.

“Despite requesting time from the Chief Minister and both Deputy Chief Ministers ten times to discuss this serious issue, they only provide false promises of holding a meeting; no actual meeting takes place. Consequently, contractors will stop all development works across all departments in the state from April 7,” the letter said.
Bhosle added that the warning was formalised at a state-level contractors’ meeting in Karjat on March 9, 2026.

“Developers and contractors were waiting in hope that the government would release some funds in March; however, the government has deliberately pushed everyone—including developers, contractors, and the state’s development—into a financial abyss,” he alleged, adding that nearly 4 crore people dependent on the sector could be impacted.
Officials are yet to respond to the contractors’ ultimatum.