LAHORE, Feb 26: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi directed on Thursday the departments concerned, including district governments, to nab those selling flour at higher price to overcome its crisis.

"Overcome the crisis in two days otherwise we will meet again to review administrative arrangements for the purpose," he reportedly asked the officials concerned during a meeting here while expressing his concern over the flour blackmarketing.

The chief minister approved 6,000 tonnes of wheat for Azad Kashmir as against a demand of 20,000 tonnes. Official sources said the food department told the chief minister that it could only control ex-mill rate of flour and had no mechanism to arrest its retail price.

Accepting the plea, the chief minister directed all departments to take stern action against dealers and retailers found overcharging. There was no mention of the magisterial powers which the district governments had reportedly been demanding for their officers to control prices of commodities.

The officials' plea was that under the present setup they could only challan the profiteers or register cases against them. Their trial was later conducted by judicial magistrates where they had no control, sources said.

They said the chief minister was informed that the flour crisis persisted only in Lahore and the situation in the rest of the province was not as bad. Around 15 per cent of the flour being sent to the fair price shops in Rawalpindi was being returned, the food department officials claimed.

Mr Elahi was also told that the food department had cancelled the wheat supply quota of five mills in Bahawalpur because of their reluctance to follow the government policy.

Sources said the food department had increased the daily quota of wheat to the mills from 15,000 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes in view of two holidays on Monday and Tuesday. It would continue till March 5.

The food department officials said flour would start reaching 1,450 fair price shops set up in the districts within the next two days. Meanwhile, according to a handout, the chief minister directed the authorities concerned to re-evaluate arrangements for the provision of low-priced flour to the people. Provision of abundant flour at the fixed prices should be ensured in all cities, he ordered.

By providing flour to the low-grade employees, the government had given them a sort of economic relief, he said. The meeting was attended by Food Minister Chaudhry Iqbal, chief secretary Kamran Rasool, food secretary Shahid Raja and other officials concerned.