Following the sharp rise in cement prices in Chhattisgarh, the state government planned to probe the cartel reportedly formed by the cement manufacturers. The price of cement bag rose nearly Rs 100 in last two months in Chhattisgarh that has over seven major cement factories.The unexpected price hike of cement was a result of illegal cartel formed by the cement manufacturers of the state that regulated the new price of cement, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Devji Patel said in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly. The state having rich limestone deposits in the Raipur-Bilaspur belt is poised to become the largest cement producing state in India. Currently, it has 7 cement plants with a total production capacity of 13.8 mn tpa. With the expansion plan and new projects, the cement manufacturers in Chhattisgarh plans to add over 100 mn tpa capacity, which would result in total manufacturing capacity that is 51 per cent of India’s current cement manufacturing capacity.