KARACHI, Sept 23: The city government has requested the chief justice of the Sindh High Court to delegate magisterial powers to district officers (DOs) and town municipal officers (TMOs) of Karachi to enable them to check hike in prices of essential commodities during the holy month of Ramazan, it is reliably learnt.

Besides, the city government has also moved a summary to the provincial authorities with regard to quality of food items, hoarding, profiteering and overcharging.

A letter, attached with the summary, has sought promulgation of the Pure Food Ordinance and the Price and Profiteering Ordinance so that any unscrupulous element indulged in a practice of hoarding or profiteering could be taken to task. It maintains that appropriate action against such elements would ultimately provide relief to consumers of essential commodities, especially in Ramazan.

Sources said that with the holy month approaching fast, the governor was likely to promulgate both the ordinances for a certain period. It is expected that the ordinances would later be tabled in the provincial assembly for approval.

Acknowledging that the CDGK had in the past failed to control prices of essential commodities, the sources maintained that the major factor was that the Price and Profiteering Act introduced by the provincial government had been rendered ineffective by virtue of the promulgation of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance-2001. On the other hand, they added, the federal government had stripped the provincial government, as well as the CDGK, of their powers to fix prices of essential commodities.

Quoting the letter (No.15(35)/97 dated 16.10.2004) issued by the federal ministry of industries to the CDGK early this year, the sources pointed out that through this communication, the Sindh and city governments had not only been rendered powerless with regard to the fixing of wholesale or retail prices, but both the tiers of governance had been barred from taking any action against those responsible for price-hike or those indulging in overcharging.

“We had been informed through the letter that all items in the schedule of Profiteering and Hoarding Act had been dropped from the purview of both the district and provincial governments,” sources in the CDGK said, adding: “though the wholesale prices of the commodities like wheat flour, sugar, meat, oil, etc., are fixed by provincial/federal governments, the city government or its controller-general of prices can fix the retail prices of these commodities by adding a reasonable margin (if required or justified) for the retailers which may vary from five to 10 per cent of the wholesale prices.”

The sources said when the CDGK, in response to the letter, had requested the federal ministry to review its decision contained in the communication, the ministry did not agree, saying that the decision had been taken in the light of the federal government’s policy of deregulation.

They said that the ministry, however, stated that the provincial government might, if necessary, frame its own laws for checking and stabilizing prices of essential commodities.

The sources said that the city government had launched a vigorous campaign against the milk and meat retailers who had resorted to overcharging, but it could not pursue their cases in an effective manner because its officers lacked magisterial powers.