Thiruvananthapuram: A decision has been made to confiscate the security amount paid by the contractor to the Treasury if the contract conditions are not met. Necessary amendments will be made in the Treasury code for this purpose. The rule is that the security amount should be kept as a fixed deposit (FD).

As per norms, the contractor is required to pay five percent of the total estimated amount to the Treasury before taking up government repair works. The contractor will make payment to the Treasury in the name of the officer of the concerned department. This is then refunded after the completion of the maintenance period.

The new order states that if the contractor does not comply with the criteria or conditions prescribed by the officer, the fixed deposit paid in the Treasury cannot be returned to the contractor. Money can be transferred to the accounts requested by the officer.

The Director of treasury had written to the Finance Department to allow the confiscation of fixed deposits if the conditions are not met. However, P Nagarathnam, state general secretary of All Government Contractors Federation said that the officials do not return the deposits even after the completion of the maintenance period citing  excuses.