A Turkish company working on a section of the Kanpur Metro has fled with Rs 80 cr in unpaid dues to contractors. The company, Gulermak, was working on the underground section of the metro. The Kanpur Metro, managed by the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC), partially opened in 2019 after the approvals in 2017 – the fastest constructed mass rapid transit system in the world.
According to a report by India Today, the company has failed to pay 53 subcontractors for nearly ten months. The payment delays began following boycott calls in India after Turkey expressed support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
The contractors allege that all the senior officials from the company overseeing the project have left Kanpur and are now avoiding calls or giving evasive responses regarding the payments. With no response from Gulermak, the contractors approached UPMRC, but no action has been taken so far, the report added. Nine contractors have since filed a written complaint with the District Magistrate.
The underground section of the metro was being developed jointly by Sam India and Gulermak. Gulermak subcontracted the work to 53 firms. Contractors claim that the company continued operations with small, irregular payments to keep the work moving.
In their letter to the District Magistrate, contractors listed specific unpaid amounts: Rs 3.70 crore to Metro Marble, Rs 1.20 crore to Radiant Services, Rs 1.70 crore to Shreyans Infratech, Rs 74.80 lakh to S Interior, Rs 39.80 lakh to MD Ehasan Painter, Rs 8.54 lakh to Vinod Gupta Enterprises, Rs 29.50 lakh to Nandan Prefab, and Rs 21.50 lakh to Shri Balaji Enterprises. They have demanded the immediate release of these payments.
Panchanan Mishra, Joint General Manager (Public Relations) of UPMRC, said that Gulermak completed the work on four stations of Corridor One in Kanpur as part of a joint venture. UPMRC, he said, made full payment to Gulermak after taking possession of the stations. He clarified that the unpaid contractors were subcontracted by Gulermak, not UPMRC, the outlet further reported.
Mishra further explained that UPMRC has withheld 5% of the total contract value as a reserve, which is scheduled for release a year after project completion. However, if Gulermak fails to settle the dues with its subcontractors, UPMRC may be compelled to release this withheld amount to resolve the matter.