‘Move to hike registration charges will lead to rise in construction cost’
Vijayawada, February 12, 2022: The steep hike in the cost of materials like cement and steel has hit the construction industry hard. The cost will go up by about ₹500 per sq. ft., considering the increase in prices of all materials, according to P. Koteswara Rao, joint secretary, CREDAI-A.P., and K.S.R. Raju president, CREDAI-Visakhapatnam.
The industry has already suffered a lot due to the COVID-19 pandemic for nearly three years. The proposal of the State government to hike the registration charges would lead to a proportionate increase in the cost of land and thereby the construction cost, the CREDAI representatives told a media conference here on Saturday.
The unprecedented rise in material costs has a debilitating effect on the realty sector, which provides employment to thousands of families. Small and medium builders, who constitute a majority of the building community, have been facing problems due to the provisions in the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and GST. Though RERA has been made online, procedural delays continue to delay clearance of applications, sometimes taking more than a year according to the reports published in thehindu.com.
‘Reduce lending rates’
They sought among other things reduction in the lending rates and bringing interest rates of construction finance on par with housing loans for individuals. The lending rate for builders was 11 to 14 % as against 6 to 7% for individual buyers. They sought reintroduction of input tax credit, rationalising GST and RERA provisions and reduction in stamp duty to enable the realty sector overcome its problems.
E. Ashok Kumar, honorary secretary, CREDAI-Visakhapatnam, was present.
