Rs 45 to 98 a square foot. That is the plywood price per sq ft for moisture-resistant (MR) plywood from 6 mm to 18 mm in Telangana’s Common Schedule of Rates 2025-26, before GST, and boiling-water-resistant (BWR) ply runs about Rs 55 to 122. On an 8×4 sheet (32 sq ft) that is roughly Rs 1,450 for 6 mm MR, Rs 2,140 for 12 mm MR and Rs 3,080 for 18 mm MR. Kerala PWD’s market rates for October to December 2026 put 12 mm commercial ply at about Rs 70 to 75 a sq ft. Shuttering ply is a different purchase: what it really costs depends on how many pours each sheet survives.

Every figure below comes from a state schedule of rates or a state market-rate list, quoted as the book prints it per square metre. The per sq ft and per sheet columns are our own arithmetic: divide by 10.764 for a square foot, then multiply by 32 for an 8×4 sheet.

Plywood price per sq ft by thickness and grade

Telangana’s Board of Chief Engineers prices plywood by grade and thickness in Section J of its Common Schedule of Rates 2025-26, effective from 1 June 2025. The section heading says the rates exclude taxes but include loading, conveyance, unloading and stacking. That is close to a delivered price, before GST.

Thickness MR, per sqm MR, per sq ft MR, per 8×4 sheet BWR, per sqm BWR, per sq ft BWR, per 8×4 sheet
4 mm (3 ply) Rs 443 Rs 41.16 Rs 1,317 Rs 507 Rs 47.10 Rs 1,507
6 mm (5 ply) Rs 489 Rs 45.43 Rs 1,454 Rs 593 Rs 55.09 Rs 1,763
9 mm (5 ply) Rs 573 Rs 53.23 Rs 1,703 Rs 698 Rs 64.85 Rs 2,075
12 mm (9 ply) Rs 720 Rs 66.89 Rs 2,140 Rs 912 Rs 84.73 Rs 2,711
15 mm (9 ply) Rs 1,059 Rs 98.38 Rs 3,148 Rs 1,307 Rs 121.42 Rs 3,886
18 mm MR / 19 mm BWR (9 ply) Rs 1,037 Rs 96.34 Rs 3,083 Rs 1,311 Rs 121.79 Rs 3,897

Source: Telangana Common Schedule of Rates 2025-26, items TBSC-J.I-01 to J.I-07 (MR) and J.II-01 to J.II-07 (BWR), all “conforming to IS:303”. Per sq ft and per sheet are our conversion. Two rows look odd and are printed that way: 18 mm MR is Rs 22 a sqm cheaper than 15 mm, and 9 mm BWR is cheaper than 8 mm BWR (Rs 737).

The grades in one line each. MR is the interior grade under IS 303. BWR is the next grade up for damp areas. BWP is the boiling-water-proof grade, and marine plywood is BWP made to IS 710. The full detail of what separates them belongs in a materials guide; for pricing, the step from MR to BWR adds about 21 to 27 per cent at the same thickness from 6 mm to 15 mm on this book.

What other state lists say: 6 mm, 12 mm and 19 mm

Kerala’s Public Works Department publishes local market rates every quarter, district by district, on its PRICE portal. The October to December 2026 lists were published between 6 and 12 October 2026. The table gives the lowest and highest of four places (Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam-Aluva, Thrissur and Kozhikode), with older Haryana and Tamil Nadu book rates beside them.

Item as listed Kerala LMR, Oct-Dec 2026, per sqm Per sq ft Haryana HSR 2023, per sqm
6 mm, 5 ply, commercial ply both faces Rs 450 to 490 Rs 41.81 to 45.52 Rs 268 (B0669)
12 mm commercial ply Rs 750 to 810 Rs 69.68 to 75.25 Rs 447 (B0670)
Water proof ply 12 mm Rs 810 to 1,365 Rs 75.25 to 126.81 Rs 462 (B0094)
12 mm marine plywood, IS 710 Rs 950 to 1,288 Rs 88.26 to 119.66 Rs 621 (B0901)
19 mm BWP marine ply, IS 710, balancing lamination both sides Rs 1,924 to 2,200 Rs 178.74 to 204.38 not listed

Tamil Nadu’s Schedule of Rates 2025-26 (Volume I, basic rates excluding GST, w.e.f. 22 July 2025) prices “Termite Proof / Water Proof Plywood 19mm thick” at Rs 1,339 a sqm under code M-0628, about Rs 124 a sq ft or Rs 3,981 a sheet. That sits close to Telangana’s Rs 1,311 for 19 mm BWR.

Haryana’s figures are from the HSR 2023 basic rates on the Haryana PWD schedule of rates portal. The 2026 edition on that portal does not yet carry a basic-materials chapter, so these are three years older than the Kerala lists and run well below them. Treat them as a floor. Kerala does not state whether its market rates include GST.

Shuttering plywood price: what the rate books pay for a ply deck

IS 4990:2011, the Bureau of Indian Standards specification for plywood for concrete shuttering work, says shuttering ply “shall be preservative treated, of BWP grade” and comes in three types: plain, coated, and film faced. None of the books checked prices an IS 4990 sheet as a material. They price the finished formwork per square metre of concrete face, and Haryana’s HSR 2026 lets you see what a ply deck adds.

Item Labour Material Total per sqm Per sq ft
HSR 2026, 6.30.3: centering and shuttering, suspended floors and roofs Rs 158 Rs 75 Rs 233 Rs 21.65
HSR 2026, 6.30.20: the same, with water proof ply 12 mm thick Rs 340 Rs 149 Rs 489 Rs 45.43
HSR 2026, 6.30.21: lintels and beams, with water proof ply 12 mm Rs 258 Rs 154 Rs 411 Rs 38.18
Telangana 2025-26 hire: cuplock and 19 mm BWR deck sheets, slabs up to 150 mm Rs 303 Rs 465 (hire) Rs 768 Rs 71.35

Haryana’s material column for a ply-faced slab is Rs 149 a sqm, about a third of the Rs 462 its 2023 basic rates list for a square metre of 12 mm water proof ply, and that Rs 149 also has to cover props and nails. A rate book can only do that by spreading each sheet over several pours. It does not publish how many. If you are judging a labour-only quote against these items, the shuttering rate per sqm guide explains what the square metre is measured on.

State departments build their estimates from books like these. When you bid on live government construction tenders, check which formwork line the estimate used before you price your own ply.

How many uses does shuttering ply give?

No standard or schedule checked gives a number. IS 4990 says: “It is claimed that concrete shuttering plywood is capable of being re-used many times. However, the re-use value of the plywood depends on the care taken in handling the boards and following the manufacturer’s instructions.” Its handling annex asks for the face to be re-coated with mould oil “after 3-4 uses” and for cut edges to be sealed. That is a maintenance interval, not a service life. IS 14687, the falsework guideline, only asks that formwork be planned to permit maximum reuses.

So the count has to be yours, from your own sheets on your own slabs. Once you have it, cost per use is simple: sheet price divided by pours. Here is what the count does to a Telangana-rate BWR sheet, before GST:

If the sheet lasts 12 mm BWR (Rs 2,711), per pour Per sq ft per pour 19 mm BWR (Rs 3,897), per pour Per sq ft per pour
5 pours Rs 542 Rs 16.95 Rs 779 Rs 24.36
10 pours Rs 271 Rs 8.47 Rs 390 Rs 12.18
20 pours Rs 136 Rs 4.24 Rs 195 Rs 6.09

The pour counts are arithmetic inputs, not a promise of life. The lesson sits in the ratio. Say one dealer quotes Rs 2,700 a sheet and another Rs 3,900 for a heavier film-faced board. The dearer sheet only has to survive 44 per cent more pours to cost the same per pour, and anything beyond that is profit. The shuttering business piece runs the same per-use sum from IS 10421 for steel plates and props.

Handling decides much of that count. IS 4990 warns against dragging coated or film-faced boards over one another, and asks for boards to be stacked flat, dry and covered. The shuttering removal time for slab post covers when the deck may come down. A worn face also costs money downstream, because IS 4990 counts a smooth concrete surface “requiring very little additional plastering” among the ply’s advantages; once the face goes, the plaster rate per sq ft starts adding to the slab.

Add GST, then count sheets

Plywood falls under heading 4412, which Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) placed in the 9 per cent central schedule from 22 September 2025, so 18 per cent in all with the state share. A 12 mm BWR sheet at Telangana’s rate becomes about Rs 3,199 with GST, and an 18 mm MR sheet about Rs 3,638. For how many sheets a slab needs, the shuttering area calculation guide works it from the drawings; note that an 8×4 sheet is 32 sq ft, while the largest IS 4990 standard board, 2,400 by 1,200 mm, is about 31.

The question to put to the plywood dealer

Before you compare two quotes, ask the dealer or timber merchant one thing: “Is this board IS 4990 shuttering ply, BWP-bonded and edge-sealed, and how many slab pours have your other contractors actually got from it?” If the dealer can name the standard and give you a buyer to call, you can work out your cost per pour. If all you get is a price per sheet, you are buying blind. If the stock is for hire work and needs a loan, compare equipment finance options against what each pour will earn.

Schedule of rates items, market rates, GST and plywood prices change — confirm current prices with the dealer or timber merchant, and formwork specifications with your structural engineer, before deciding.