Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 30: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) today asked the Government to constitute a full-fledged Regulatory Commission to control unprecedented hike in prices of building material which is giving a tough time to the people besides hampering overall developmental activities across Jammu and Kashmir.
In a joint statement issued here, former legislators and JKAP leaders Mohammad Ashraf Mir and Abdul Rahim Rather have demanded that a body of experts including representatives of various construction material producing associations be also formed to find tangible solutions to the issues faced by the construction sector from time to time.
As compared to last year, the JKAP leaders observed that there has been a record hike of at least 60 per cent in costs of building materials like bricks, stones, sand, gravel and aggregate without any solid justification.
JKAP leaders observed that it is not the general public only but the uncertainty in prices of raw materials has badly hit the contractors who take up works based on a rate they foresee. “The indiscriminate rise in prices of construction material may lead the common people and contractors into debt traps. So, this unjustified price rise has badly hampered the overall developmental activities both in private and public sectors,” they remarked.
They demanded that the Regulatory Commission if constituted should be mandated to review the ban on the process of extraction of building material in order to ensure maximum participation of local contractors and labourers that can eventually bring down the costs of building material.
“The Govt introduced e-auction for mining activities has only favoured outside J&K contractors giving a death blow to the locals associated with this business. With the result the whole extraction activity has come to a standstill, not only disrupting the Government and private constructions but have skyrocketed the prices of raw material for the local population,” they remarked.
They demanded that Govt should revisit this entire bidding process for mining activities and ensure mass participation of local contractors and labourers in it.
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