Maharashtra realty developers are planning to stop purchasing raw material and pause the construction activity at their ongoing sites owing to escalating prices of key input materials including cement and steel. The apex body of more than 3,000 builders in Maharashtra, Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), threatened to cease work at its construction sites owing to the steep increase in rates of building materials which may directly influence the costs of apartments and delay the possession schedules promised to the buyers. CREDAI Maharashtra President Sunil Furde told the media that the costs of cement, steel, sand, bricks and all other essential building materials have been steadily escalating since the last two year and have currently skyrocketed to unaffordable levels. The costs of steel -- the most essential building element -- has doubled from Rs 42,000 per tonne to Rs 85,000 per tonne now, cement bags have increased from Rs 260 to Rs 400, cost of four-inch brick has increased from Rs 6,500/1,000 to Rs 8,000/1,000, sand has escalated from Rs 6,000/brass to Rs 7,500/brass, while wash sand has increased from Rs 3,800/brass to Rs 4,800/brass, Furde said. Besides, the price of all other materials such as fittings, tiles, electric wires, pipes, fabrications, sanitaryware, secondary minerals, and labour charges have also increased by about 40%. With such high costs, they cannot afford to build homes. So all CREDAI Maharashtra members are planning to close all building activities. The CREDAI has shot off a letter to the Maharashtra government, comprising Deputy CM and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, asking to verify whether the surge in raw material prices is natural or due to hoarding for profiteering during the pandemic lockdown period. The CREDAI has additionally requested Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (M-RERA) to extend the completion deadline for the shut projects. Furde said that apart from the rising costs of raw materials, the proposed 1% Metro Cess to be imposed on all property acquisitions in Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Nagpur from April 1 will further hit consumers planning to purchase a house, and requested the state government to reconsider or delay the move by at least two years. Image Source Also read: Builders urge Maha officials to defer metro cess levy by 2 years