Kochi-Muziris Biennale dogged by claims of non-payment of dues to local contractor; denies wrongdoing

The 2018 edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), considered one of Asia’s most prestigious art festivals, has been in the news for its stellar programming and inclusivity. However, it has also been plagued by some negative developments. In October last year, co-founder Riyas Komu was among the public figures mired in sexual harassment allegations in the second wave of the #MeToo movement in India; Komu immediately stepped down from all managerial positions with the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) and finally resigned in March 2019, citing being ‘marginalised and humiliated’. More recently, the KMB management has been sent a legal notice by a local contractor, alleging non-payment of dues for work completed. The contractor and some of the labourers have started an Instagram handle called @justicefrombiennale18_19 demanding the Biennale organisers clear their dues before the festival ends on 29 March. The handle features photos of the labourers, their statements regarding the work they have put in for the Biennale, and on-site images.

The contractor Appu Thomas — director of Thomas Clery Infrastructures and Developers Pvt Ltd (TCID) — told Firstpost his company had worked with the KMB in 2016 and 2017 and shared a “long, trusting and good relationship with them”. For the 2018 edition, Thomas says KMB gave his firm charge of almost all the major works at the festival, from the Aspinwall venue to the Pavilion. Thomas lays out a picture of working against time and several operational hurdles to complete the projects on time. Bills would be cleared as and when they were raised, Thomas was told. “They [KBF] were extremely good with the payments till mid-November and had already paid us and some vendors cumulatively Rs 1.42 cr (the total amount is Rs 2.8 cr) and there were absolutely no issues then. And then they suddenly stopped paying, but we couldn’t stop because there was so much work left; the architect and the sponsors were giving us instructions continuously on various projects at the Biennale. Plus, we had immense trust in them because we have been working with them for so long. That is one reason we went ahead and completed the work,” Thomas says. However, once the work was completed and all bills were submitted on 20 December, Thomas said no further payments were received. “There are more than 200 labourers who are yet to paid; 40-50 business houses who had provided us with materials — plywood, light, electric cables, generator etc. The Trust told us that they need some time as they are a public fund and have certain policies to follow. Then, we waited till 25 December and they hadn’t paid us even then. I sent them an email marking the president, the secretary and the curator, asking that they at least pay us half the money. They wrote back saying that they appreciate our hard work and the work that we put in, but they will need some time. At that time, the curator sent us — the architect and me — an email where the management alleged that we had overcharged and that our prices ran way over their budget,” Thomas says. According to Thomas, the KBF then did a valuation by themselves and informed his firm they would pay half the (pending) amount. “It is completely unacceptable; you can’t deny payments after having used all the facilities and infrastructure,” Thomas says, adding that the KBF’s valuation was completely arbitrary. Thomas says the wait for their dues to be cleared has now spanned three months, and once the Biennale closes on 29 March, those anticipating their payments will have no recourse. “We served them a legal notice saying they have paid everyone other than the locals and that they should re-evaluate the bills with us and the architect; see the drawings. We don’t want to fight; we are friends of the Biennale. Just pay the poor labourers. They haven’t responded to the legal notice — which for us was a discussion forum to bring the facts to the table and settle this amicably before they leave the site. If the president goes to Mumbai and the secretary goes to Delhi, then we will be talking to a couple of security guards in the Biennale after 29 March,” he says. Thomas — who asserts he is a fan of the Biennale himself — says he chose to air the grievance on social media as the state media tends to be supportive of the KMB. The KBF meanwhile has issued a statement as of 23 March, refuting Thomas’ allegation. “In light of the disinformation campaign regarding non-payment of construction workers, the Kochi Biennale Foundation makes the following clarifications,” the statement read. “The contractor and his vendors entrusted with the construction of the Biennale Pavilion at Cabral Yard have to-date been paid Rs 1,80,59,000. The payment of on-ground workers is the responsibility of the contractors. Since the final bills submitted by the contractor were considered exorbitant, the Foundation, in mutual agreement with the contractor, appointed an independent government-approved valuer to look into this. The report submitted by the valuer has found that the bills are greatly inflated, and that the amounts demanded by the contractor are arbitrary. This matter is now being pursued legally.” Madhav Raman of Anagram Architects, who was the project architect for the Pavilion, said he was unaware of the details of the total works invoiced by Appu Thomas’ firm. “However, I do know they include structures, site infrastructure provision and development at Cabral Yard over and above the Biennale Pavilion structure,” Raman said. “I understand he has also done work for the development of other venues but can’t comment on the details. I should imagine a large part of the amount invoiced would be to compensate labour overtime and last-minute material procurement and logistics. The reason for this is that Thomas had access to the Cabral Yard site from only the first week of October. I commend him and his team for actually completing the work in time. I had estimated it to require about 3.5 months and can personally vouch that work happened day and night on a war-footing, at times even in the rain. So to pull it off in two-odd months is no mean task,” he said.