Tamil Nad

Plea filed in Madras High Court to regulate cement prices

The Coimbatore Corporation Contractors’ Welfare Association (CCCWA) has moved the Madras High Court complaining about cement prices being fixed at very high rates in the State due to an alleged syndicate formed by the manufacturers.

Justices M.M. Sundresh and R. Hemalatha on Monday directed the Industries Secretary to respond to the writ petition filed by the association which claimed that the cement prices in the neighbouring States were much less compared to that in Tamil Nadu.

Advocate V. Elangovan, representing the association, told the court that cement was being sold at Rs. ₹385 per bag in the State in July 2019 when the price of each cement bag was only ₹320 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and ₹335 in Karnataka.

Hence, CCCWA approached the High Court and obtained a direction to the Industries Secretary to consider its representation. The direction was issued on August 7, 2019. However, the Secretary on October 21 and instructed the association to approach the Competition Commission.

Aggrieved over such rejection, the association had approached the High Court once again with a plea to direct the government to take a policy decision on regulating the cement prices since several hundred families were dependent on civil construction for their livelihood.

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