Chennai, Jun 10 (IANS): Citing the runaway prices of steel and cement, real estate developers are hoping that the central government set up a regulator for these two sectors, said top officials of Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (CREDAI).

They also said the possibility of importing cement should be looked at as the rise in the prices of construction inputs is squeezing out their margins and may have to be passed on to the customers.

Speaking to media after releasing the national survey of Covid-19 impact on real estate sector Pankaj Goel, Secretary said the price hike in steel may be due to shortage in supplies as the plants are focused on producing oxygen for Covid-19 patients.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had levied a penalty of about Rs 6,000 crore on the cement companies earlier for cartelisation and the matter is under appeal, Goel said.

The cement prices have gone up by 20 per cent and the steel prices by about 40 per cent in recent times, officials said.

On the question of having a regulator for steel and cement Goel hoped that it would become a reality soon.

CREDAI officials said imports of cement may be difficult given the clout that the cement manufacturers have.

The CREDAI has represented to the government to infuse financial stimulus and initiate progressive measures to assist the sector's recovery.

The organisation has requested for liquidity infusion, one-time restructuring of loans, across the board six months extension of completion date by RERA, stamp duty reduction or waiver, moratorium extension on principal and interest for six months and others, Harsh Vardhan Patodia, President, CREDAI said.

The survey report was made with the participation of 4,813 developers from 217 cities and is the latest ground report on which the government should base its decisions, officials said.

According to the survey report, over 95 per cent developers feel inevitable project delays if no urgent relief measures are injected in the sector by the Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

These delays are attributed to a range of factors, like labour shortage at construction sites and project approval delays.

As per the survey, 98 per cent of the developers are facing reduced customer enquiries and 42 per cent developers are experiencing a 75 per cent decline in customer enquiries.

Furthermore, the report reveals that the second wave has caused 95 per cent of customers to postpone their purchase decisions.