Date:27/11/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/27/stories/2009112754800400.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

State plans steps to control prices

Special Correspondent

VS for more vigorous market intervention

To support selected hotels to serve cheap lunch
Vegetables to be procured in bulk

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State government has decided to intervene in the market in a more vigorous manner than at present to check the rising trend in the prices of essential commodities, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has said.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday after a meeting of Ministers and top officials of various departments to discuss the issue of price rise, Mr. Achuthanandan said the government would support (with the supply of rice, vegetables and other commodities at subsidised prices) selected hotels in all major towns in the State so that they could serve noon meal at Rs.15 to the common people.

The government would clear immediately all the arrears in the payment of subsidies to its agencies entrusted with market intervention tasks. This would enable agencies such as Supplyco and Consumerfed to pump in more resources than at present for supplying to the people essential commodities at subsidised rates. Supplyco itself would receive Rs.55 crore from the government immediately.

Hoarding

Various departments would also coordinate their activities to prevent hoarding and black marketing. A mechanism with the District Collector as the convener would work in each district to monitor prices, conduct anti-hoarding raids and ensure that the fair price shops of the market intervention agencies of the government had sufficient stock of all essential commodities.

The Chief Minister said that Horticorp would procure vegetables in bulk from vegetable producing areas for supply to the consumers at subsidised rates.

Mr. Achuthanandan alleged that the basic reason for the rising trend in the prices of essential commodities was the Union government’s policies. The Centre had systematically weakened the public distribution system in the country by going slow on procurement of essential commodities from the farmers and slashing the quota of items such as rice to the States that were deficient in the production of those items. He said Kerala had little hope of the Centre changing its attitude. The State had been voicing its protest over the Centre’s policies and would continue to do so, he said.

Minister for Civil Supplies C. Divakaran and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also attended the press conference.