Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that those involved in adulteration of daily use items, overcharging, hoarding and less weighing and deserve no leniency and strict action should be taken against such elements without any discrimination.
He said that big fish involved in such practices should be sent behind the bar so that no one could dare to exploit the masses. Hoarding and adulteration as well as less weighing and short measuring was a heinous crime, which would not be tolerated. The chief minister was presiding over a high level meeting held here with regard to price control, elimination of adulteration, checking of weight and measures and setting up of model bazaars at Chief Minister's Secretariat.
Provincial Ministers Rana Sanaullah, Ahmed Ali Aulakh, Members National and Provincial Assembly, Chief Secretary, Inspector General of Police, Secretaries of Home, Law, Labour, Livestock, Agriculture, Food, Commissioners of Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala and concerned officers were present.
Shahbaz Sharif ordered setting up of a cabinet committee at provincial level for reviewing demand and supply of daily use items and their prices. The committee will meet twice a month and will be responsible for activating price control committees at district level. He also directed Divisional Commissioners to immediately hold meetings of price control committees in all districts of their respective divisions for fully activating them.
He said that meat had gone out of the reach of poor people and they can earn blessings of Almighty Allah by providing them vegetables at reasonable rates. A comprehensive system of monitoring was essential for checking the demand and supply of daily use items and stabilising their prices. He said that honest and dutiful officers should be selected through screening for ensuring the sale of essential items at fixed rates and elimination of adulteration and price control magistrates should also be fully activated.