Gadkari fumes at hike in prices of steel and cement

Concerned over the steep hikes in the prices of steel and cement, the minister for Ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and highways, Nitin Gadkari has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to arrest the trend.

Speaking at an event organised by Assocham, Gadkari said, “Steel companies have raised their rates by 55 per cent in the last six months. I have written to the Prime Minister and have suggested that the issue should be discussed at the highest level. Some decisions have to be taken. This (the price hike) is not good. It may well be known that if the hike is commensurate with the increased cost of labour, power and raw materials, lowering the productivity and increasing the rate is not a good strategy,”.

The minister also took a jibe at the cement industry, saying this also holds for the cement sector. “At a time when we are trying to create so much infrastructure, this kind of policy approach from their (cement and steel companies) side would not do any good for them in the long-term. This is also not good for the country. We need to create a long term-policy for the steel and cement sectors,” the minister said.

Gadkari also said that if steel and cement companies stick to their present policy of jacking up prices, infrastructure projects would become economically unviable and might force the government to change its policy.

It may be remembered that just a couple of days ago, Gadkari had accused cement units of forming cartels to raise the prices of the building material even as the construction industry was struggling to recover after being hit hard by the pandemic and the lockdown.

“I decided to make all roads concrete. I wanted to encourage the cement industry. But they are only taking (unfair) advantage of the situation and making cartels. So, I am now allowing bitumen (for road construction),” Gadkari had observed at a Ficci event.