Manipulation by sand mafia further pushing up sft. cost, allege stakeholders
An abnormal hike in the prices of cement and steel is not only causing undue burden on middle-class homebuyers but is also putting pressure on builders, according to the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India’s (CREDAI)Visakhapatnam chapter.
“Cement manufacturers have formed a cartel to hike the price of cement by ₹100 to ₹150 a bag, thereby resulting in an escalation in the cost of apartments by ₹100 to ₹150 per sft. Similarly, an abnormal hike in the cost of steel, by ₹30,000 a tonne, is leading to a further increase in the sft. cost by an additional ₹100, CREDAI Visakhapatnam chairman Peela Koteswara Rao and president B. Srinivasa Rao told reporters here on Thursday.
The shortage of sand and manipulation by the sand mafia was further adding to the sft. cost, they alleged. Inadequate supply of sand, particularly in Visakhapatnam city, has become a perennial…