VIJAYAWADA: Members of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) on Thursday have appealed to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to convene a meeting with cement manufacturers to discuss the 40 per cent increase in the price of cement. The federation demands that steps be taken by the Chief Minister to bring down the price of cement.
Addressing a press conference here, CREDAI Vijayawada Chapter president YV Ramana Rao said that the cost of cement had skyrocketed across the State due to cartelisation by cement manufacturers. Price of one cement bag (50 kg) was increased by 40 per cent, despite the cost of raw materials, labour and transportation remaining static. If this situation prevails for the next couple of days, builders will be left with no option but to stop construction till the cement prices come down, he said. Rao also said that a steep rise in cement prices forced the builders to increase the construction cost of one square feet area from `50 to `70, and this was burdening the home buyers. Further, he said the State government had on another occasion intervened and successfully brought cement prices down, and demanded that the Chief Minister do the same and provide relief to the consumers.
“A representation will be submitted to the State government in this regard and representatives of our national chapter is in talks with other building associations to discuss the future course of action,” he added.
General secretary K Rajendra said that the construction sector is in the process of coming back to normalcy after facing severe hardships. The sudden revision of cement prices by `100 per bag will have a negative impact on the sector, he said. There is an urgent need to constitute a regulatory body on the lines of RERA and TRAI in the State, he added.