Cement companies lower price in Himachal

Three cement companies having plants in Himachal Pradesh Tuesday agreed to reduce the price of cement from Rs.15 to Rs.35 per bag in the state, an official said."Ambuja, ACC and Jaypee have agreed in principle to reduce the price with immediate effect," a government spokesperson told IANS.

He said a decision in this regard was taken at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh where company functionaries were also present.The companies agreed to lower the rates in border areas of the state from Rs.15 to Rs.35 or at par with the cement rates prevailing in the neighbouring states, whereas the price was reduced from Rs.15 to Rs.25 in other parts of the state, he said.

The official said it was also decided at the meeting that the companies would submit quarterly statement of comparative rates of cement being sold in border areas and other parts to the state director for industries.Official sources said the rates of cement in the state vary from company to company.The opposition BJP had alleged that the cement produced in the state was available at cheaper rates in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana than in the hill state.

The state has four mega cement plants - Barmana (ACC), Darlaghat (Ambuja), Rajban (CCI) and Bagha (Jaypee). The aggregate capacity is 10.66 million tonnes.