Vijayawada: Realtors seek incentives from government

Vijayawada: National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) has appealed to the state government to save the construction sector, which has been facing crisis due to the Covid-19 lockdown for last two months.

NAREDCO state vice-president B Amarnath and other council members addressed the media on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion, Amarnath said the prices of iron and cement increased in recent weeks despite the lockdown in the state.

He said the cement price has been increased between Rs 80 to Rs 100 per bag and the steel price increased between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per tonne.

He said the construction workers may not get livelihood if the construction activity comes to a standstill due to soaring prices of cement and iron.

He said former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy decreased the stamp duty by five per cent in 2008 when construction sector was facing crisis. He demanded the government to decrease stamp duty by five per cent and take measures to bring down the prices of cement and iron in the state.

He said the construction industry was crippled due to lockdown as well as increasing cost of construction and expressed concern that the sector would be plunged into further crisis if the government failed to announce incentives.

Naredco Vijayawada joint secretary G Hari Prasad Reddy and other members P Raj Kumar, N Vamsi Krishna and others present.