While all-India cement consumption during the period April-October 98 has increased by more than four per cent, state-wise consumption has increased in the range of 0.25 per cent to 19 per cent barring few states, according to the Cement Manufacturers' Association of India(CMA).

Domestic cement consumption during the period under review has been 422.87 lakh tonnes against previous year's 406.65 lakh tonnes.The northern region witnessed maximum construction activity during the year under review. Cement consumption in this region at 125.25 lakh tonnes,is the highest in the country.

The southern region has been a close second with cement consumption touching 123.55 lakh tonnes.

The third largest cement consumer has been the western region at 122.06 lakh tonnes whereas the consumption in eastern region has declinedmarginally at 52.01 lakh tonnes.

The hectic industrial activity in all the states of northern region barring Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh has contributed to high cementconsumption in the northern region of the country. Maharashtra alone accounted for 54.04 lakh tonnes of cement consumption almost equal to the consumption of the entire eastern region and also the highest in the country.Gujarat accounted for 40.28 lakh tonnes of cement which marks the highest growth in construction activity in the western region at 17 per cent rise compared to similar period.

Region wise there has been highest increase of 8 per cent in the western region, 5.00 per cent in the northern region 0.75 per cent in southern region and a decline of 0.08 per cent in eastern region in the consumption of cement.

Though the cement consumption has declined in Uttar Pradesh by 1.50 per cent, it has registered as the second largest consumer at 45.44 lakh tonnes.The third largest state in the consumption of cement has been Tamil Naduwich has consumed a total of 43.90 lakh tonnes while the fourth highest cement user has been Gujarat.

The cement consumption in other states of the country are as follows : Andhra Pradesh-32.67 lakh tonnes, Madhya Pradesh - 26.15 lakh tonnes, Karnataka - 24.12 lakh tonnes, Rajasthan -23.04 lakh tonnes, West Bengal - 19.88 lakh tonnes, Kerala - 22.18 lakh tonnes, Punjab- 21.81 lakh tonnes, Bihar - 18.00 lakh tonnes, Delhi - 13.72 lakh tonnes, Haryana- 12.46 lakh tonnes, Orissa - 9.97 lakh tonnes, Himachal Pradesh - 4.02 lakh tonnes, Assam - 1.30 lakh tonnes, Jammu and Kashmir - 2.89 lakh tonnes, Chandigarh- 1.86 lakh tonnes, Goa - 1.59 lakh tonnes, Meghalaya- 1.30 lakh tonnes, Pondicherry- 0.52 lakh tonnes and Andaman and Nicobar - 0.15 lakh tonnes.