October 19, 2006

The price control mechanism is a continuous process which should be carried out throughout the year. The government should make it more effective keeping the needs of the consumers in mind, writes M.H. Khan from Hyderabad

Despite the revival of administrative magistracy in the Finance Bill 2006 by the government to check inflation, this Ramazan too, there has been an increase in the prices of basic commodities like fruits, vegetables and items of daily use. The shopkeepers are getting away with overcharging customers due to the absence of an effective regulatory mechanism.

At the start of the holy month, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz announced a Rs650 million Ramazan package to help people buy goods from utility stores on subsidised rates. Price lists were issued on the first day of the Islamic month but fruit and vegetable vendors and grocers continue to violate them openly. “Nobody asks commission agents as to why they sell us fruits at such high rates,” complains a fruit vendor.

So far the implementation of price lists has not materialised and price control magistrates have failed to make their presence felt in the markets, leaving helpless consumers in the lurch. With the powers of first class magistrates, the revenue officers –– including Mukhtiarkar, Assistant Mukhtiarkar, Deputy District Officers (DDOs) –– are required to exercise control over prices. However, these officers visit markets towards the closing hours of the day when a large section of the population has already done its shopping at exorbitant rates.

“I remember last year a price control magistrate visited the market only twice,” says a market committee employee at one complaint centre in Fakir Ka Pir. “We would register complaints of buyers and present them to the magistrate for action. There was a time when we were empowered to take action against the violators but now the system has been changed,” he adds.

The grocers are not wrong when they argue that wholesalers of flour, rice and pulses are the real market players, and if they are controlled then retailers will have no option but to reduce their margin of profit. “Nobody takes action against the wholesalers,” says a retailer and shows a receipt from a flour mill which sold him flour at Rs13.50 per kilogramme instead of the official price of Rs13 per kilogramme. Retailers blame the district administration for pressurising them, while completely ignoring the wholesalers who also violate the official price lists.

Adeel Pathan of Consumers Rights Forum (CRF) deplores the failure of the government in controlling prices. He proposes that the government-backed Consumer Rights Council (CRC) should widen its scope to include the entire province instead of restricting its activity to Karachi alone. “A CRF representative should be inducted in the CRC,” he advises.

It is interesting to note that the price lists compiled by the government appear faulty when compared with the market prices, especially of fruits. This is because the administration obtains rates from the market one day before it distributes the price lists. In some markets fruits are sold at rates lower than those prescribed by official lists. For instance, on October 1 watermelons were being sold between Rs15 and Rs16 against its official price of Rs18. While grapes were sold for Rs100 per kilogramme against their official price of Rs125 per kilogramme.

The price control mechanism is a continuous process which should be carried out throughout the year. The government should make it more effective and responsive to the needs of the consumers. Magistrates as well as the staff at complaint centres in markets should be empowered to impose fines on violators.

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