States told to monitor essential supplies

NEW DELHI : The central government has asked all states to monitor the availability and prices of essential commodities following concerns from some quarters amid a second wave of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, a communication from the consumer affairs ministry said.

The consumer affairs ministry’s price monitoring cell is keeping an eye on prices and multiple wings are overseeing the demand-supply situation of daily-use items, an official familiar with the matter said.

This follows a letter sent to principal secretaries of states on April 15 by the additional secretary in the consumer affairs ministry, Nidhi Khare, which spelt out guidelines to ensure essential supplies are not hampered due to restrictions imposed to contain the pandemic.

In that letter, the Centre advised all states to form teams in every district comprising officials from civil supplies department, local police and the food safety department for “effective surveillance and enforcement activities in order to avoid a demand-supply mismatch, hoarding and exorbitant pricing of essential supplies”.

While officials from the ministry have been holding daily meetings with states through video conferencing to monitor movement and availability of essential items, the states have been asked to keep groceries and pharmacies out of all restrictions, including section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, officials familiar with the matter said.