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— Kamal Narang

Hitting out: Mr Rohtas Goel (left), President, NAREDCO, with Mr Pradeep Jain, Senior Vice-President, addressing a press conference in the Capital on Saturday.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, April 19 The real estate industry today lashed out at steel and cement companies accusing them of ‘cartelisation’, and said that steep hike in cement and steel prices had pushed up the construction costs by Rs 225 per sq ft, in the last one year.

“There is definitely a cartelisation in cement and steel industry,” the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) Senior Vice-President, Mr Pradeep Jain, said responding to a specific query. NAREDCO is a real estate development and promotion council under the aegis of Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.

“Steel manufacturers have short supplied by making a cartel,” Mr Jain, who is also the Chairman of Parsvnath Developers, pointed out.

Earlier this week, the Finance Minister, Mr P Chidambaram, had accused the domestic steel industry and cement manufacturers of operating in a cartel-like fashion and has also warned of tough administrative measures.

The NAREDCO President, Mr Rohtas Goel, said the sharp rise in the prices of steel and cement had increased the construction cost by Rs 225 per sq ft. He pointed out that iron ore – the key input for steel manufacturing – was still being exported.

“The increase in the cost of land, steel and cement has made the housing unaffordable for middle and lower middle class,” he said.

Asked whether the industry was witnessing any slowdown due to high interest and inflation, he said: “There is no slowdown. I do not think there is any softening of prices.”

More Stories on : Real Estate & Construction | Steel | Cement

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