Madras High Court Dismisses Plea for State-Level Regulation of Construction Material Prices

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a public interest litigation pleading to the government to intervene in the price of construction materials in the State.

It was filed by Kandhasamy, a civil contractor hailing from Periyakiluvachi in Sivagangai district. The prices of fundamental materials such as M-sand, gravel, stones and iron had been unreasonably hiked up in Sivagangai and Pudukkottai districts, discouraging the contractors from carrying out government and private construction ventures, he claimed. The price hikes also allegedly violated quarry contract norms, he said.

Kandhasamy had also submitted a petition to the Principal Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Minerals Department, requesting the government to take corrective measures. The High Court was moved after having no response from the government, seeking the formation of a state-level committee to monitor the rates of construction material.

The state government’s counsel, during the hearing, clarified that it was contractors’ associations who set the prices of material and not the government. Thus, the state did not take a direct part in price prescription.

The bench, also comprising Justices J. Nisha Banu and S. Srimathi, held that the petitioner, who is an individual contractor, had no locus standi to maintain such a plea. Only a recognized contractors’ association, they wrote, could raise those concerns before the court. Therefore, the petition was dismissed.

The ruling reaffirms the judiciary’s view that issues of industry-wide concern should be represented by appropriate trade bodies, not individual contractors.