Amidst concerns over a rise in cement price in the open market, the State government on Monday launched the sale of Amma Cement in Tiruchi. The sale will be extended to other parts of the State by January 10.

Amma Cement, priced at Rs.190 a bag, will be sold through 220 godowns of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) and 250 godowns of the Rural Development and Panchayat Department across the State.

The government will procure two lakh tonnes of cement a month from private manufacturers in Tamil Nadu for implementing the scheme. The TNCSC and the Rural Development Department will be the implementing agencies of the scheme, an official release said.

Consumers building houses will be issued 50 bags per 100 square feet, subject to a maximum of 750 bags for 1,500 square feet.

A buyer will have to produce the approved building plan or a certificate from village panchayat officer, revenue inspector, panchayat union supervisor or road inspector concerned. For repairs or renovation, 10 to 100 bags will be sold.

The cement will also be available in shops run by the District Supply and Marketing Societies. A maximum of 400 bags will be stocked at the shops for sale at any given point of time. The sale of cement through these shops will be done through panchayat-level federations of women self-help groups identified by the respective District Collectors.

Amma Cement will also be made available to beneficiaries of Green House and the Indira Awaas Yojana schemes.

Sources in the TNCSC said that the sale of Amma Cement in Tiruchi district had begun at its godowns in Subramaniapuram, Adavathur, Irungalur, Thuraiyur and Musiri.

Welcoming the move, as it will “benefit individuals building houses,” real estate developers, however, sought government intervention to check fluctuation of cement price in the open market.

“The State and Central governments should take steps to check the price of cement in the open market, which has touched Rs 370 per bag,” said T.V.Murali, president, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India, Tiruchi.