Andhra Pradesh is the second largest cement producer in the country.

And, this has turned out to be a boon to the Congress government which is implementing a massive housing programme for poor, the Indiramma Housing Scheme.

Various projects
Under this scheme, about 54 lakh houses are targeted for construction by 2009. For the current year, the target is 15 lakh houses which are expected to consume three lakh tonnes of cement per month.

Highest growth
Thanks to the government’s various construction and irrigation projects, cement consumption in Andhra Pradesh shot up by 52 per cent in last fiscal, according to the Cement Manufacturers Association. This is said to be the highest growth in the four southern states.

Andhra Pradesh is the highest cement producing state in the last three years with the production touching 19,935 million tonnes.

It is not just the highest producer, but is also said to be the largest consumer of this commodity.