The government’s claim of building one million houses has not materialized yet, but it has become very difficult for citizens to build their own homes. Prices of construction materials have risen by 25 to 30 percent in three months.
At present, the price of bricks in Lahore has gone up from Rs 11,000 to Rs 14,000 per thousand and the price of a sack of cement has gone up from Rs 530 to Rs 580. There is also a shortage of brick kilns due to closure. Similarly, the price has gone up from Rs 101 per kg to Rs 121 per kg. The market price of Surrey has gone up by Rs 12,000 per tonne to Rs 117,000. An 800-foot gravel loader truck has been priced from Rs 34,000 to Rs 38,000. Similarly, the daily salary of a house builder is between Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 1,800 while the workers are earning at least Rs. 1,000 per day.
People who want to build their own house say that everything has become expensive. Rana Mubashir Hassan, a resident, said that they had started construction of a house on two or three marlas a few weeks ago. 10 to 12 lakhs, but so far Rs. 18 lakhs have been spent and the house is not yet complete.
A citizen said that the price of ordinary black marble called Badal in the yard is Rs 45 per square foot while the wages have gone up to Rs 25-30 per foot. After the construction of the house, the wiring of electricity, water and gas is also necessary. The prices of all these accessories have also gone up by 25 to 30 per cent. Completely failed.
The Secretary General of the Kiln Owners Association said that these days the kilns of the kilns are closed due to the threat of smog and they are also being shifted to Zig Zig. We had suggested to the government to close the kilns only in those areas where there is a risk of smog this year but the government did not accept their suggestion. Prices will go down
On the other hand, those who sell construction materials are also very worried about the situation. He says that the rates of everything are increasing on a monthly basis. Sheikh Habibullah, owner of a sanitary store on Shalamar Link Road, said that inflation has affected everyone and the prices of sanitary ware have also gone up. There are many types of quality goods available in the market now, people buy cheap things and they deteriorate quickly. The federal government had promised to reduce taxes on construction materials to boost the construction industry, which was not implemented. The government had said that under the package, tax exemption for low-cost housing projects would be up to 90 per cent and provincial taxes would be reduced to a reasonable extent.