Chennai Corporation clears bills worth over ₹1,000 crore while ₹2,096-crore bills remain pending

A view of Ripon Building, the seat of Greater Chennai Corporation. File | Photo Credit: M. Srinath The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has cleared bills worth more than ₹1,000 crore over the past five months, but its overall pending payments and liabilities, including revenue bills, stand at ₹2,096 crore, a GCC official said. This comes while the Greater Chennai Contractors Welfare Association asked the GCC and State to clear the pending bills of contractors.The contractors’ association, in a petition dated October 24, 2026, sent to the Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, has sought the release of bills pending for several months. Some payments have been delayed by as long as nine months, leaving contractors struggling to meet expenses on labour, machinery, GST and bank interest, the association said.R. Rama Rao, the association head, claimed the GCC is yet to pay him ₹29.41 crore in pending bills. This includes ₹15.98 crore under the Capital Fund, ₹4.08 crore under the State Disaster Management Fund (SDMF), ₹3.52 crore under the ‘Nagarpura Salaigal Mempattu Thittam’ (NSMT) and ₹3.11 crore under the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund (TURIF).He said, “If payments are held up for months, contractors find it difficult to meet expenditure on labour, machinery and materials, while continuing to bear GST liabilities and interest on loans taken to execute the works. The delays will affect creditworthiness and our ability to secure further credit from banks.”The association has sought directions to expedite the settlement of outstanding bills and payment of applicable interest. It has cited Sections 15 and 16 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, which provide for payment to eligible micro and small enterprises within the prescribed period and compound interest in cases of delay.It has also referred to Clause 38.2 of the GCC tender agreement and Clause 64.1 of the Tamil Nadu Building Practice, which provides for intermediate payments within 14 days of each certificate.Clearance in 5 monthsThe pending bills would be cleared through the Receivables Exchange of India Limited (RXIL) platform in the coming days. However, fresh bills continue to accrue as works progress, making payments a recurring cycle, a GCC official said. The official added that the payment situation was better than in 2023 and 2024.The Chennai Corporation has cleared more than ₹1,000 crore in bills over five months, including over ₹500 crore through the RXIL platform, the official said. Payments through bill discounting averaged around ₹100 crore a month, with daily releases of about ₹7 crore to ₹10 crore, subject to a monthly limit to contain the interest burden.The Chennai Corporation had also used a ₹150-crore overdraft facility in the previous month to settle some bills, which had since been closed. The State government had released around ₹275 crore for projects funded by the KfW and the Asian Development Bank, and the corresponding bills had been cleared, the official added.The overall pending liability which stands at ₹2,096 crore includes revenue and other payments and does not represent the amount due exclusively to contractors, the official noted.Payments and expenditure by the Greater Chennai Corporation (May–October 2026)Payments to contractors and vendors: ₹2,468.56 croreFresh RXIL bill discounting: ₹434 croreTotal bills cleared/discounted: ₹2,902.68 crore to contractors and vendors over the six-month periodEstablishment charges: Approximately ₹870 crore towards salaries of permanent and temporary staffSources of fundsFunds released by the State Government, including State Finance Commission (SFC) grants: ₹1,670 croreProperty Tax collection through a special drive: ₹1,068 croreProfessional Tax collection through a special drive: ₹266 croreOther taxes and rent: ₹20 croreOther fees and penalties: ₹200 croreMarket overdraft (loan facility): ₹150 crore Published - November 06, 2026 06:14 pm IST