VIJAYAWADA: RV Swamy was elected as president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), Vijayawada chapter, for 2019-21, at a programme held here on Wednesday. The newly-elected management committee will assume office from April 1 and continue till March 31, 2021.
Other office bearers include GSR Mohan Rao and KVV Ravi Kumar as vice-presidents, D Rambabu (general secretary), V Sridhar and K Ramesh Ankineedu as joint secretaries and Sreeram Unnava as treasurer. AP Fire Services Director General K Satyanarayana and Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao also participated in the oath-taking ceremony of the committee members.
Speaking on the occasion, Swamy said that the construction sector was reeling under crisis following demonetisation, implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST) and a steep rise in the prices of cement, sand and construction material. Taking note of the issue, the State committee of CREDAI submitted a representation to the State government to bring down the cement prices.
However, since the model code of conduct came into force, the government had to delay the meeting they were to convene with the cement manufacturers to address the problem. But it has assured us that it would hold the meeting in order to bring the commodity in the reach of the builders, he said.
Vice-President GSR Mohan Rao has appealed to the government to reduce the stamp duty charge on registration from 7.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, as implemented by former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Another major problem haunting the sector is artificial sand scarcity. Since March 22, the sand prices have increased from Rs 4,000 to 8,000 per lorry.
In this regard, a representation would be submitted to District Collector AMD Imtiaz seeking him to provide an exclusive sand reach for builders of Krishna District, he added.