Chief Secretary Punjab Abdullah Khan Sumbal has directed all deputy commissioners to intensify the crackdown on profiteers and hoarders for ensuring the availability of food items at fixed rates.
He issued this directive while presiding over a high-level meeting held at the Civil Secretariat to review prices and availability of eatables, especially vegetables, flour, ghee, and pulses.
Chief Secretary Abdullah Sumbal said that providing relief to the people from inflation is the priority of the government, and administrative officers must play their role to ensure stability in the prices of essential commodities. He mentioned that the home department has been assigned the responsibility to improve the system of price magistracy.
The Chief Secretary 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 fruits and vegetable markets in the districts and keep a check on the prices as well as the supply and demand of the commodities.
Secretary Industries Dr. Hamid Javed Qazi gave a detailed briefing at the meeting. He said that there are ample stocks of wheat and sugar in the province, adding that the prices of ghee are being monitored on a daily basis. The meeting was told that concrete steps are being taken to prevent the smuggling of flour and wheat and 19000 tons of wheat was seized in DG 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.
