CHENNAI: Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday announced the sale of Amma Cement at a lower rate to people in the lower and middle income groups. The sale would be regulated by the federation of self-help groups at the panchayat level to be selected by collectors, the Chief Minister said.
For constructing 100 sqft, 50 bags of cement can be bought at a reduced rate, while a maximum of 750 bags can be availed of under the scheme for constructing 1,500 sqft. For repairing or renovating a house, 10 to 100 bags of cement would be provided at a subsidised rate, the Chief Minister added.
“At present, the TANCEM is supplying cement at `220 per bag to the houses constructed under the Green House Scheme and for Indira Awaz Yojana. Hereafter, Amma Cement would be made available for these schemes as well,” she added.Those who wish to avail of this scheme should produce the approved plan of the building or the certificate issued by the Village Administrative Officer/ Revenue Officer/ Panchayat Union Supervisor/ Panchayat Union Road Inspector. The Tamil Nadu Cements Corporation Limited would be the nodal agency for implementing this new scheme, while the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department would be the implementing agencies.
Stating that at present, in Tamil Nadu, about 18 lakh metric tonnes of cement was being used per month and of this, the Chief Minister said about 4.5 lakh metric tonnes was procured from the united Andhra Pradesh. The quantum procured from Andhra Pradesh was one-fourth of the cement consumed in Tamil Nadu.
Cement companies in neighbouring states, particularly AP, had hiked the price by `80 to `100 per bag and cement was being sold at `310 per bag. Due to this, the inflow of cement from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu had come down by 1.5 lakh metric tonnes to 3 lakh metric tonnes.