Hyderabad: COVID-19 has negatively impacted all aspects of life from health to economy. The pandemic had put the whole world on hold including infrastructural development. Businesses picked back pace as the pandemic declined and the cost of materials increased. The increase in prices of bricks, sand, cement has forced home builders to put the construction work on hold.
The government is facing issues due to the increased prices of construction materials. Telangana government’s 2BHK scheme for people below poverty line, is also in a tough spot. Engineers are concerned that if prices continue to rise similarly, the budget set for the scheme may be exceeded.
A bag of quality cement that was priced between Rs 310 to Rs 320, now costs Rs 380. With this rise, local manufacturers have also increased the prices of cement from Rs 50 to Rs 70, per bag. Iron was priced at Rs 56000 per ton, and has shot up by 18 percent. Vishaka steel that sold Iron for Rs 60,000 per tonne has now increased the prices to Rs 70,000. The prices of bricks and sand are also increasing. A lightweight brick sold at Rs 6 per piece earlier, now costs Rs 8 each. Labour costs have also increased to Rs 700 per day for women, whereas male labour costs are higher.
A number of people have put on hold the construction of houses in Nizamabad due to the same reason. Currently, the construction of 375 houses has been stopped midway in Armoor. The rising prices of petrol and materials used in the construction of houses is a burden to home builders.