Ceiling on stock of essential commodities

To check hoarding of essential items,the Punjab Government has decided to impose a cap on stocks of edible oil,pulses and rice.

To check hoarding of essential items,the Punjab Government has decided to impose a cap on stocks of edible oil,pulses and rice. Wheat,however,has been kept out of the list. Director Food and Supplies,Punjab,D S Grewal said,We have imposed a ceiling as directed by the Centre,to keep a check on price rise. The traders will now be able to store only 1,000 quintals of edible oil. Only one-third of milled and one-third unmilled pulses will be allowed to be stored by the millers.

The notification is this regard will be issued soon. The district food and supplies officers will be authorised to raid and seize the excess stock, he added.

The Act to check hoarding was de-notified in 2002 by the Centre. It was,however,notified again in July this year.

After almost seven years,the Punjab Government has decided to impose the cap on edible oils,pulses and rice,to keep a check on the hoarding of these essential items,after directions from Union Government.

Wheat has been kept out of the list as,in the last few days,1.40 lakh quintal wheat,priced around Rs 50 crore,has been seized by the Food and Supplies Department. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said, Traders will not allowed to keep a stock of more than 2,000 quintal of sugar. As a result of our actions,the price of sugar has come down by Rs 200 per quintal.

The wholesale rates of sugar have come down to Rs 3,000 per quintal against Rs 3,200 per quintal,but there is no change in the retail price,said a trader.

Punjab Food and Civil Supplies Department conducted raids and seized 8,500 quintals of sugar worth Rs 2 crore in Amritsar,1.07 lakh quintals worth Rs 39 crore in Ludhiana and 20,000 quintals in Rajpura.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram