Bureau of supply and prices reactivated: Sindh agriculture department reluctant to return powers

The agriculture department of the Sindh government is reluctant to return powers under Sindh Prices Control Act, 2005 to the recently reactivated bureau of supply and prices department to ensure proper checking of commodities' prices and contain profiteering, it is learnt.
Besides, the influential agriculture department officials were also refusing to hand over Consumer Protection Ordinance, Economic Marketing Wing and Weighs and Measurement Cell due to which the bureau of supply and prices was facing hardships in performing its duties, reliable sources told Business Recorder on Monday. They said the department had been reactivated last year but hindrances were being put in the department's proper functioning due to which poor masses were facing serious problems such as profiteering, substandard quality of food items, etc.
The bureau of supply and prices was bifurcated in year 2001 and its functioning was divided between city district government and the provincial agriculture department, sources said, adding that the District Co-ordination Officers (DCOs) were made the District Controller Prices (regulating authority), who had been running the affairs for eight years without having Controller General Prices Sindh.
After bifurcation of the department, in a surprising move, the agriculture department had established the weighs and measures cell, they said and accused the officials of taking bribe instead of performing their duties to provide relief to masses. The weighs and measures cell is also responsible for proper checking and monitoring the quality of petrol and meters installed at the petrol pumps of Sindh, they said and added that the officials had also time and again refused to return the building, which was earlier owned by the bureau and supply and prices.
The present elected government after coming to power had announced to reactivate the department of bureau of supply and prices once again and all the district government including the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) returned all the power to it. However, the agriculture department refused to follow the instructions due to alleged backing of senior PPP leaders present in the Sindh government, they added.
Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah was also apprised of the matter, who had directed agriculture minister Syed Ali Nawaz Shah and bureau of supply and prices minister Shoaib Bukhari to resolve the issue amicably, sources said and added that both the ministers failed to even have a single meeting for last couple of months to sort out the differences.