LAHORE: Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal has directed all the deputy commissioners to take action against the hoarders of fertilizers under the Anti-Hoarding Act.
He gave this directive while presiding over a meeting to review the prices and availability of fertilizers in the province at the Civil Secretariat.
The administrative secretaries of departments of food and agriculture and officers concerned attended the meeting while all the divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video link.
The Chief Secretary asked the officers to register cases against the hoarders and sell the confiscated stock in the market at the fixed price.
He clarified that only declared stock would be allowed in the warehouses. He mentioned that lists of registered fertilizer dealers have been provided to the deputy commissioners, adding that the monitoring of fertilizer delivery and stocks should be continued on the online portal.
The Chief Secretary said that due to effective government measures, the prices of fertilizers have come down; however, the special branch has reported the sale of fertilizers at exorbitant rates at some places. He said that the administrative measures should not affect the supply chain in any way.
The divisional commissioners briefed the meeting about the prices and availability of fertilizers through the video link. The meeting was informed that there is no issue of the availability of fertilizers in any district.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021