The contractors outside the TIP office. (Kundan Yolmo)

Siliguri, Aug. 5: Contractors of the Teesta Irrigation Project (TIP) locked all its offices near Tinbatti More here for two hours today, demanding that their dues of Rs 20 crore be cleared immediately.

“Even though most of the works awarded to us had been completed by March this year, the department has not paid us a single penny,” said Asit Das, a member of the Teesta Barrage Contractors’ Association. “We had even faxed a memorandum to the Bengal irrigation minister.”

The contractors alleged that a section of officials in Calcutta were delaying the payment even though Rs 28 crore, received from the Centre, was lying with the irrigation department.

Admitting the delay in clearing the dues, Kaustabh Jyoti Pal, the executive engineer of Mahananda Barrage Division, a wing of the TIP, said: “Payments are usually made twice a year — in March and before Durga Puja. We had some funds in March but they were not sufficient to clear all dues. We are trying to clear the dues at the earliest.”