Rising steel, cement rates irk builders

Concerned over the apathy shown by the Gujarat government in controlling the surging prices of cement and steel in the state, members of the Surat Builders Association (SBA) held a hunger strike at the Surat District Collectorate today.

The builders and contractors have also threatened to go on an indefinite bandh if the prices are not brought down.

"We had no other option but to stage this protest fast," SBA president Jayant Ganatara said.

The entire construction industry of Gujarat has come to a standstill in the past 10 days, leaving more than 20 lakh workers jobless.

In view of the situation, the Federation of Real Estate Association of India had to prepone its meeting from March 23 to March 11.

According to Ganatara, the cartel of cement and steel manufacturers is responsible for the surge in prices.

Earlier, the cement industry used to hike prices in March or April every year. However, industry sources said, this time around, the cement industry had opted for an increase of Rs 60 to Rs 65 per bag which had broken the back of the construction industry.

To make matters worse, the steel industry has also decided to increase prices of construction grade steel.

"This has ultimately led to Rs 70 per square feet increase in costs for the construction industry," Ganatara said.

On March 10th, a delegation of builders and contractors had met state civil supplies minister Kaushik Patel at Gandhinagar.

After the meeting, the minister had asked all cement producers to slash prices by Rs 10 per bag.

But the cement industry has raised prices by Rs 10 per bag.

"Now we have no other option but to go on an indefinite strike," Ganatara said.

The SBA said the Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat accounts for a lion's share of the cement production in the country.

While 70 per cent of the production is supplied in Gujarat, 30 per cent is sent outside the state.

"In this scenario, why do builders and contractors of Gujarat have to shell out the highest price for cement," questions Kumar Gera of the Federation of Real Estate Developers.

"The way prices of cement and steel have gone up in Gujarat defies all logic," said Gera adding that there had not been any corresponding increase in the prices of inputs for the cement and steel industry.