Guj: Real-estate developers go on strike over cement, steel price hike

Sincecontractors mostly work on fixed rate-fixed time basis, thefrequent rise in prices will make it difficult for them tosurvive, Patel said.Meanwhile, CREDAI Gujarat president Ashish Patel saidalthough there are five cement manufacturing plants inGujarat, prices here are higher than in Bihar, which does nothave a single plant.In Gujarat, the price of one cement bag is aroundRs 300, while in Bihar it costs Rs 240.

Real-estate developers andcontractors in Gujarat on Friday joined the day-longnationwide strike to protest against the ''exorbitant hike'' inprices of cement and steel.

Work has been stalled at 20,000 construction sitesacross the state, hitting 20 lakh daily-wage labourers, saidArvind Patel, chairman of Gujarat Contractors Association.

All major organisations associated with the realestate and construction sector, including Gujarat chapters ofBuilders' Association of India and Confederation of RealEstate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) have joinedthe nationwide strike.

There is an average 40 per cent hike in the prices ofall key construction materials, mainly cement and steel, Patelsaid, adding that diesel and bitumen prices have also risensignificantly.

''The hike in prices will ultimately affect customers,who will have to shell out more money, as the constructioncosts will also shoot up,'' he said.

The rise in cost of materials will adversely affectthe nation's growth trajectory, he said.

''Steel and cement are some of the major constructionmaterials used in all segments of the industry. Sincecontractors mostly work on fixed rate-fixed time basis, thefrequent rise in prices will make it difficult for them tosurvive,'' Patel said.

Meanwhile, CREDAI Gujarat president Ashish Patel saidalthough there are five cement manufacturing plants inGujarat, prices here are higher than in Bihar, which does nothave a single plant.

''In Gujarat, the price of one cement bag is aroundRs 300, while in Bihar it costs Rs 240. Such a high priceincreases the construction cost. This open loot must end. Thegovernment should form a regulatory body to govern steel andcement prices,'' he said.

As against the ideal price of Rs 37,000 per tonne,steel prices have skyrocketed to Rs 60,000 a few months ago.

''After we made a representation, it came down toaround Rs 50,000 per tonne recently. However, this rate isstill high. Ideally, it should be around Rs 37,000. Thoughthese companies were fined in the past for such tradepractices, nothing has changed,'' Patel said.