Nitin Gadkari says government will look for alternatives if steel prices are not lowered: Report

The comments made by the minister is significant as he has been vocal about what he believes to be the unjust rise in the price of cement and steel in the country. Earlier Gadkari, who is the Union Minister for road transport and highways, had alleged that there was a cartel in the cement and steel industries that were exploiting the situation by increasing the price of the products.

"Every steel producer has got its own iron ore mines. So, jacking up prices is a type of black marketing and the cement industry is also habitual of this. I am going to settle my issue with them. Now we are planning to allow synthetic fibre in place of steel," Gadkari was quoted as saying in the report.

The recent increase in the price of steel has adversely affected several infrastructure projects including the construction of highways. "Nearly 40 percent of the steel and cement are used in highway construction. If they don't reduce prices, we will formulate alternative policies," the minister added.

While it is not yet clear what steps the ministry has taken to replace steel with synthetic fibre, the latter is being used across the globe as a cheaper and lighter alternative to steel.