CHENNAI: Builders’ Association of India (BAI) has written a letter to Chief Minister M K Stalin urging him to address the ‘acute scarcity’ of M-sand by relaxing restrictions on government and private quarries to ensure a stable supply of mineral raw materials; and establish government-fixed pricing for gravel and M-Sand to curb market inflation and support contractors.
“A significant contributing factor is the unavailability of M-sand which is an alternative to river sand. Additionally, supply chain disruptions have caused the price of M-sand to double,” said Palanivel. This has resulted in construction costs going up by 10%.
Quarry owners, constrained by stringent industry production regulations, have reduced the size and time allocated for gravel crushing, further exacerbating demand-supply mismatches and driving up the cost.
Sources said discussions were held with quarry owners on Thursday to reduce the price of M-sand which have gone up by 30 to 40 per cent in Erode, Salem, Tiruppur, Coimbatore and Namakkal. “The talks have ended in deadlock,” Palanivel said.