The Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India’s (CREDAI) State general secretary K.S.C. Bose on Tuesday urged the State government to come to the rescue of the construction sector, stating that it has been facing tumultous challenges in the wake of a sharp rise in prices of input materials such as cement, steel, tiles, and bricks.
Addressing a press meet in Vizianagaram, Mr. Bose said that raw material suppliers have increased their rates sharply citing a hike in fuel prices in the past few months.
“The cost of a tonne of steel was ₹43,000 last year, but it now costs nearly ₹70,000. A cement bag which was available for ₹230 is now priced at ₹400. The cost of bricks and sand has hit the roof, with over a 50% hike in rates,” Mr. Bose said, adding that the slump in the construction sector would adversely impact the State’s economy with a drop in registrations and sale of raw materials which fetches taxes for the government.
“After agriculture, the construction sector is a major employer and contributes a significant amount to the country’s GDP. Healthy growth of the sector would create more employment and ensure a steady income for the government. That is why we urge both the Centre and State governments to look into the grievances of suppliers, builders and most importantly the common man who will now be unable to buy a house of his own due to the skyrocketing rates,” Mr. Bose said.
CREDAI Vizianagaram district chairman V. Parthasarathy and president S.N. Raju urged the raw material suppliers to reduce prices as the government had reduced fulel prices significantly. Association secretary R.N. Murthy said that the State body was planning to meet Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and other Ministers to place on record the grievances of the builders. CREDAI executive body members Gudisha Shivakumar and G.B. Anand Kumar attended the meeting. Earlier, the association members discussed the impact on individual buyers. They said that an additional cost burden of ₹500 per sft had impacted the sale of apartments in the Fort City. Many CREDAI members said that builders now would not dare to take up new ventures if the prices of raw materials did not stabilise.
