Punjab Minister for Food Bilal Yaseen has said that price control committees have been made more active throughout the province to ensure provision of daily use commodities to the masses on cheaper rates. He said the government is taking all-out resources to discourage the trend of artificial price hike. He said this while presiding over a meeting of the price control committee at Civil Secretariat here on Monday.
Additional Chief Secretary Punjab and officers of the food, livestock, labour and agriculture departments, DCO Lahore were also present in the meeting. The minister stated that active role of price control committees in their respective districts has resulted in strengthening of the prices at a suitable level. He said that 6,898 markets and shops were checked by the price control magistrates during last 16 days and cases were registered against 1602 persons on charges of overcharging, hoarding or weighing less. Bilal Yaseen claimed that the price control magistrates were monitoring the prices daily and said that it has helped strengthening prices of 19 daily use commodities including vegetables and fruits.
He said that the government is also arranging to make these commodities available in abundance. He also disclosed that 2,936 petrol pumps were fined in Punjab during last ten days on the charges of over-charging or weighing less. Out of these, 36 petrol pumps were sealed.