OUR CORRESPONDENT
DIGBOI: A simmering payment dispute at the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Assam Oil Division (AOD) canteen has left several local suppliers high and dry, with nearly Rs 20 lakh in dues allegedly stuck in a bureaucratic maze for close to a year.
The unpaid bills pertain to supplies of vegetables, groceries, meat and packaged drinking water made to the AOD canteen, operated through Mumbai-based contractor M/S Vidya Caterers. Local vendors allege that while their goods were readily accepted and consumed, their payments have been left hanging by a thread.
Caught in the crossfire are small businesses such as Shanti Traders, Organic Point, Gautam Enterprise and Samsuddin Mutton Shop, whose proprietors say they have been running from pillar to post, only to be met with a blame game in which responsibility is tossed around like a hot potato.
The largest claim comes from Kanhaiya Prasad Jaiswal of Gautam Enterprise, who alleged that Rs 6,54,509 remains outstanding for supplying packaged drinking water to various AOD units, including the canteen, during 2023-24.
Jaiswal further alleged that when he pressed for payment, former canteen in-charge Dipak Bhuyan not only threatened him with ‘dire consequences’ but also boasted of having influential connections in New Delhi.
Adding another layer to the controversy, an AOD official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Vidya Caterers had earlier informed the management via email that the contractual quota of 7,000 litres of drinking water had been exhausted within a year and that any further supply would be financially unviable. The contractor reportedly advised the management not to continue availing services from sub-vendors on its behalf.
Despite this warning, the canteen management allegedly continued to receive supplies from local vendors without informing them that the contractor had already thrown in the towel on bearing the cost. When contacted, former canteen in-charge Dipak Bhuyan reportedly acknowledged that the supplies had been received. He maintained that JC Dutta, General Manager of Assam Oil Division, was the only authority who could take up the matter with Vidya Caterers for settlement of the pending bills.
The current canteen in-charge, however, told The Sentinel that he was unaware of the dispute. “Since taking charge, several corrective measures have been introduced in the canteen system,” he said, distancing himself from transactions that took place under the previous administration. For the affected vendors, the prolonged delay has become a bitter pill to swallow. Many say their working capital has been drained, and their trust in the system has worn thin.
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