VISAKHAPATNAM: Construction activity came to a standstill in the State on Saturday as all associations connected to the construction sector observed a work holiday to register their protest against the steep hike in the prices of all materials. CREDAI, NAREDCO, Chamber of Commerce, BAI, LTP, Architects Association and SABCA participated in the strike. In Vizag alone, as many as 2,000 projects came to a halt and one lakh workers had no work on Saturday. Following the work holiday, most of the construction zones such as Gajuwaka, Pedagantyada, Pendurthi, Madhurawada and Anandapuram in the district wore a deserted look. In Vijayawada, Tirupati and other cities also, the strike was total.
The rising prices of the construction material did not augur well for the building industry, which is the largest contributor to the GDP of the country, CREDAI State president B Raja Srinivas said.
He said prices of all 241 items which are used in construction, have gone up by 40 to 45%. Raja Srinivas said the one day token strike was observed only to highlight their problems and seek a solution from the State government, the Centre and other agencies concerned. If there was no response from the government to their genuine demands, realtors will be forced to intensify their stir, he said.
CREDAI Visakhapatnam president KSRK Raju said the spiralling prices of construction material will not only hit the construction industry, but will have a negative impact on the government revenue and job opportunities for workers. “If one rupee is spent on construction activity, 43 paise of it will go to the State government in the form of taxes,” he said.
The Centre should help the industry by reducing the rate of GST from 28 to either 5 or 12% slab and the State government should ensure availability of cement to builders at a reduced price, he said.
A Ramesh Babu of NAREDCO and C Ramakotaiah of BAI said manufacturers of cement and steel, two main components of construction, have been hiking prices at their will and wanted the government to rein in them. The price hike is not the problem of builders alone, it is the problem of people, because finally the customer will have to bear the burden. Because of the hike in material prices, the cost of construction had gone up from `1,000 to `2,500 per sqft. Builders use nearly 160 items for construction and the price rise of all items will push the industry into crisis, he said. The government should be responsible for this sorry state of affairs of the construction sector, Ramakotaiah asserted.
MVS Surya Prakash of SABCA and K Ravi Kumar of LTP wanted the GST slab to be reduced from the present 28%.
In Vijayawada, builders associations, including CREDAI, BAI, NAREDCO and others staged a demonstration at a under construction building at Teachers Colony in Kanuru against rising prices of construction material.
CREDAI AP vice-president YV Ramana Rao said the construction sector was already reeling under severe crisis and adding to their woes Covid further impacted the industry.
Fuel rate hike has also pushed up the prices of all construction material. “We are appealing to the Centre and the State government to intervene in the matter and take necessary action to control the material prices for the survival of the construction industry and the realty sector,” Rao said.
The construction activity in Tirupati also came to a halt. CREDAI secretary A Rajesh Babu said in the recent past the cost of raw materials such as cement and iron have skyrocketed. In addition, the prices of electrical, paint, plumbing and sanitary products and 250 other materials have recorded at least 40 to 50% rise making the housing more dearer for the common man, he explained.