Strict action against those who overcharge for daily essentials: Kerala govt

Apart from inspections, quality control should also be carried out at all places, he directed.

Amidst allegations by the Congress-led UDF opposition of price rise in the state, the Kerala government on Tuesday decided to take steps, which included strict action against merchants who overcharge for daily use items, to control rates of essential commodities.

The direction to take action was given by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a high-level meeting which was attended by various Cabinet Ministers, the State Police Chief as well as Collectors and police chiefs of all districts, a statement issued by Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said. The meeting was held after the government came to notice a huge difference in prices of daily necessities in many places, the statement said.

Interestingly, the move comes after the UDF opposition a day ago threatened to hold protests from ration shops to the state secretariat against the rise in prices of essential commodities. In addition to taking action against those who overcharge consumers for daily necessities, the Chief Minister also directed that a price list of the essential items be displayed in front of all businesses and inspections by the Legal Metrology Department be tightened to prevent illegal activities like hoarding.

Besides that, a team led by the Collector should directly carry out inspections in the main markets of each district and the police too should intervene where required, the Chief Minister directed. "Horticorp, Consumerfed and Civil Supplies should also effectively intervene in the market to bring down the prices of consumer goods. All the departments should work together to contain the prices through effective intervention,” he said in the meeting.

The Chief Minister suggested that the District Collectors hold discussions with the merchant community on the issue of differences in prices of the same item in different areas and find a solution to it, the statement said. He said efforts should be made to settle the fluctuations in the prices and bring about uniformity in the rates and as part of that, District Collectors should review the prices of daily necessities at least once a week.

Apart from inspections, quality control should also be carried out at all places, he directed. Vijayan also suggested a meeting of the concerned departmental secretaries once in 10 days under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to ensure the decisions taken in the meeting were being implemented, it said.