Lahore Divisional Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa said on Wednesday a vigorous crackdown on individuals engaged in profiteering, hoarding and overpricing in the division was under way currently. In a statement issued here, he said that during the last 24 hours, a total of Rs 526,000 fine was imposed on profiteers. He said that 287 individuals were fined for profiteering, with cases registered against 59 of them.
The Commissioner said that on the directives of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, active field formations were ensuring relief to citizens. A total of 7,233 inspections were conducted to enforce official prices, resulting in the arrest of 48 profiteers and issuance of 285 strict warning notices. The commissioner said action had also been taken against individuals involved in hoarding and selling adulterated items. Two locations involved in hoarding were sealed, with 410 individuals found involved in overcharging. He said performance of each price control magistrate was being assessed separately by forming individual dashboards, to evaluate effectiveness of field operations.
Moreover, The Axle Load Management System, developed by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) in collaboration with the Punjab Transport & Masstransit Department, fined over 33,500 overloaded vehicles and registered more than 1,800 overloaded vehicles through forks. At the same time, more than 47,000 trips were registered through the said system. This was informed during a progress review meeting held at the PITB office on Wednesday. In this regard, Chairman PITB Faisal Yousaf said that Axle Load Management regime will also aid in revenue generation for the government, preserving of the infrastructural assets by increasing life of roads and reducing maintenance cost.
