Kerala - Kozhikode   

Reduction of price sought

Staff Reporter

LENSFED flays increse in price of construction materials

KOZHIKODE: The State Centre Committee of Licensed Engineers and Supervisors Federation (LENSFED) have condemned the crisis in the construction sector owing to the `unjustifiable increase in price' of construction materials.

The increase in the price of cement, steel and metal has hit both the public and medium builders. The price of a bag of cement has been hiked by over Rs.65. The price should be brought down as the price of the raw materials for cement have not increased, LENSFED State president K. Saleem and general secretary P.O. Radhakrishnan said.

They urged the State Government to prevent Malabar Cements, Public Sector Unit (PSU) from implementing the hike in prices. The move was being made to `protect the interests of monopolistic industrialists,' they alleged.

They also said that the curb on sand-mining being implemented in Kerala was `unscientific.' Immediate steps should be taken to make the curb on sand-mining scientific and effective. They alleged that big builders in the construction sector had joined hands with cement manufacturers. The builders and cement manufactures buy cement on wholesale and sand from the sand mafia, they alleged.

They said that the Government stopped giving sanctions six months ago to building plans in the corporations and municipalities that needed exemption from the respective town plan based on a High Court order. The court order had stipulated that zonal-level exemption not be given to the buildings.This led to a backlog of applications from individuals as wells as builders.

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