The Kerala chapter of Builders’ Association of India (BAI) will meet here on Saturday to discuss, among other issues, a serious shortage of raw materials like quarry products and spiralling input costs. The recent hike in building permit fee and the reluctance of banks to lend a helping hand to contractors are the other challenges facing the sector.
BAI Kerala chapter president Jolly Varghese said there was rampant shortage of quarry products, including rock aggregates, resulting from a significant reduction in the number of granite quarries in the State. Besides, licence renewal is not done in time making it difficult to freely source raw materials.
Contractors face other difficulties such as delay in getting payments. This has resulted in banks increasingly showing reluctance to extend bill discounting and offering overdraft facilities to builders.
