Society Watch President Khalid Mehmood has said that cement and steel rods manufacturers are robbing the masses by not passing the benefits of reduced production cost to them.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Khalid Mehmood said that reduced price of coal and oil had brought down production cost of cement cartel by 20 per cent while the cost of making steel rods had come down by almost Rs 10 thousand per tonne. However, the cement and steel millers were silently passing benefit to distributors, wholesale buyer contractors working on mega projects and builders but keeping the masses deprived, he added.
Mehmood alleged that the departments supposed to check corrupt business practices had preferred to ignore this plunder for obvious reasons. He said that despite getting discounts the developers had increased prices of apartments by 20 to 30 per cent in one year, therefore the government should ask them to reduce prices or take back relaxations granted in the budget.
Many cartels continue to increase prices without any justification which amount to plundering masses while the Competition Commission of Pakistan remained silent spectator, he said, adding that a bag of cement that was available for Rs 350 in October 2011 now costs Rs 530 to 550 for masses while others get good discounts. The Society Watch president demanded the authorities concerned that the cement and steel cartels must be punished and import of these items should be encouraged to protect masses and discourage profiteers.
