LAHORE
Punjab Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal on Tuesday directed all deputy commissioners (DCs)to intensify crackdown on profiteers and hoarders for ensuring availability of food items at fixed rates.
He issued the directive while presiding over a meeting at the Civil Secretariat here to review prices and availability of eatables, especially vegetables, flour, ghee and pulses.The chief secretary said that providing relief to people from inflation was priority of the government, and administrative officers must play their role to ensure stability in prices of essential commodities.
He mentioned that the Home Department had been assigned the responsibility to improve the system of price magistracy.
The CS said that sale of commodities at higher than fixed rates would not be tolerated in any case and the performance regarding price control measures would be reviewed regularly.
He asked the deputy commissioners to pay visits to fruit and vegetable markets in their respective districts and keep a check on the prices as well as the supply and demand of commodities.Punjab Secretary Industries Dr Hamid Javed Qazi gave a detailed briefing at the meeting.
He said that there was an ample stock of wheat and sugar in the province, adding that the prices of ghee were being monitored on a daily basis.
The meeting was told that concrete steps were being taken to prevent smuggling of flour and wheat and 19,000 tons of wheat was seized in Dera Ghazi Khan during the last one month.
The administrative secretaries of agriculture and food departments and officers concerned attended the meeting while all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video-link.
