Bare necessities: Govt asked to explain price control measures

Government should explain the mechanism for preventing price gouging from the farmer to the retailer, says petitioner.

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court on Tuesday sought a report from the government on its mechanism for revising prices.

Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan directed the government to submit the report by December 16.

Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel said that the prices of vegetables and fruits had risen sharply. People faced serious problems in procuring basic necessities.

He said the government appeared deaf to the people’s problems. The authorities were not enforcing price control. They should explain the mechanism for preventing price gouging from the farmer to the retailer, he said.

The petitioner requested the court to direct the government to explain whether there was a policy to check and control prices of commodities of daily use. The government should also be directed to explain what penal action had been taken against those responsible for price hike, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2013.