Tension prevailed at Deputy Chief Minister and finance minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s chamber on the second floor of the Secretariat on Monday as several retired employees and contractors staged a dharna demanding clearance of long-pending bills and retirement benefits.
The protesters expressed anger over being denied an opportunity to meet Bhatti or finance secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania despite making repeated trips to the Secretariat over the past few months to pursue their pending payments.
At the time of the protest, Bhatti was holding a review meeting with ministers and officials on the progress of construction works for Young India Residential Schools and BC welfare schemes.
The retired employees and contractors alleged that their payments had remained pending for several years despite repeated representations and visits to the finance department. They said all their attempts to personally meet the Deputy Chief Minister and make an appeal for clearance of the dues had proved futile.
A family member of a deceased retired employee said the pensioner had died on August 3, 2024, but not a single rupee had been released towards his retirement benefits. “How can a family survive without the retirement benefits.” he asked.
Tension escalated when police personnel prevented the protesters from meeting the Deputy Chief Minister, leading to heated arguments. “Officials and police personnel are not permitting us to meet the Deputy Chief Minister or finance secretary. Unless we are given an appointment, we will not leave the Secretariat,” the protesers said.
Several contractors also complained that while officials were issuing token numbers for their bills, the payments were not being cleared. They questioned the purpose of issuing tokens when the bills continued to remain pending.
The protest was not an isolated incident. On September 17, several retired employees had queued up at the finance department in the Secretariat and appealed to officials to release their pending retirement benefits. In August 2025, several contractors had also staged a flash protest at Bhatti’s chambers over non-payment of their dues.
The protesting contractors had undertaken various works under the “Mana Ooru, Mana Badi” programme during the previous BRS regime for renovation and improvement of government schools. They claimed that payments for several of the completed works were still pending. In March 2025, the Telangana Civil Contractors Welfare Association had staged a flash protest at the chambers of Deputy Chief Minister , demanding clearance of their long-pending bills.
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