Builders in southern states threaten to stop construction in protest against cement price hike
Realty players in the four South Indian states have threatened to stall all construction work from July, as a mark of protest against the hike which cement manufacturers announced in cement costs earlier this month.
Apprising the reporters about the ‘stop-construction’ action which real estate players in southern states are planning to take, Ajit Chordia – President of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) Chennai chapter – said that the cement manufacturers have not yet given any reason for the cement price hike.
Noting that, as a result of the price increase which took effect from June 1, the cost of cement has gone up manifold, from Rs 60 per bag to a whopping Rs 320, Chordia said that the increase in the cement prices is “unwarranted.”
About the impending protest by the realty players, Chordia said that all the builders across the four southern states will stop buying cement bags with effect from June 30. If the cement manufacturers do not bring down the costs of cement, the builders plan to stop all construction activities in the states from July 7. In case the situation still persists, the builders will have to increase the property prices.
Asserting that the realty sector is not keen on passing on the cement-cost burden to customers, Chordia said: “There is no option to stop our work indefinitely if there is no decrease in cement prices…We have been forced to take this extreme step.”
Source – The Economic Times
CREDAI, protest against cement price hike, Real Estate Developers Associations of India, Realty players
