When the rural Tripura is going through a major reform in housing under Prime Minister Awaas Yojana (PMAY), the shortage of bricks has reportedly stalled various development works.
According to sources, the demand for bricks has increased soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi transferred the first installment to 1.47 lakh beneficiaries under the PMAY on November 14 last.
“While there was an increase in the demand, the production of bricks was disrupted in the state following shortage of coal supply and unseasonal rains,” the sources said.
As the beneficiaries of the government’s priority project- PMAY started purchasing bricks, the supply of bricks for various works under PWD and CPWD is being hampered.
One of the key reasons, the source explained, was that many of the brick kilns were unable to start full-fledged seasonal production following the shortage of coal. Besides, the brick kilns had to face a loss as the production was disrupted due to the unseasonal rains in December last. Acute shortage of sand has also been reported from some parts of the state.
As a result, the agencies or the individuals implementing various government works under the PWD and CPWD are suffering to a great extent.
However, it is expected that the coal supply would start soon as the Coal India Limited had already allocated 2 lakh tonnes of coal in Tripura’s quota though it is still uncertain if the coal allocated for the state would be able to meet the crisis.
