Engineers, Builders Protest Sharp Hike in M-sand, Gravel, and Cement Prices Across Tamil Nadu

Civil engineers and contractors in Tamil Nadu have strongly protested the steep increase in prices of major construction materials M-sand, gravel, and cement. On Tuesday, members of the Madurai District All Civil Engineers and Contractors Federation organized a protest calling for an immediate rollback.

The protest, arranged by the Association of Madurai Civil Engineers (AMCE), featured attendance by CREDAI, the Builders Association of India, and engineering bodies in Usilampatti and Tirumangalam.

AMCE President Pon. Ravichandran claimed that the cost of a truckload of M-sand (three units) had increased from ₹15,000 to ₹22,000 within four months without an enhancement in input prices for quarry and crusher units.

“This trek is unwarranted. The operators have joined a syndicate and increased prices at will,” Ravichandran claimed.

Piling on the cost, the cost of a bag of cement has risen from ₹280 to ₹350 over the last week. “This is placing contractors in a cash crunch,” he said, adding that civil contracts are generally based on fixed yearly material costs.

“When raw material costs spike unpredictably in the middle of the year, it sends whole budgets into disarray and results in huge losses for engineers and constructors,” Ravichandran elaborated.

He also condemned a recent ₹1,000 price cut announced by suppliers after negotiations with the State government as “cosmetic and inadequate.”

Unless prices are rolled back to their previous levels, the federation threatened it will go on an indefinite state-wide strike, stopping all construction activity.

The construction industry, already stretched by labor shortages and unpredictable demand, now finds itself plunged into a greater crisis as a result of this price hike with possible knock-on effects on housing affordability and project timelines statewide in Tamil Nadu.

Will the government step in decisively, or will the industry come to a standstill? Stakeholders await anxiously.