Lahore: Chief Secretary Punjab Abdullah Khan Sumbal has directed all the deputy commissioners to ensure timely resolution of complaints received on the Qeemat Punjab app and raise public awareness about the use of this app.
He gave this directive while presiding over a meeting held to review the prices and availability of food items, especially flour, ghee, pulses and vegetables, at the Civil Secretariat. The meeting decided to increase supply in the market and establish trucking points for one week to eliminate the impression of flour shortage. The authorities briefed the chief secretary that flour is available in all the districts at the fixed price and there is no shortage anywhere.
The Chief Secretary ordered the field officers to intensify the crackdown on illegal transportation of wheat and flour. He mentioned that providing relief to the people from inflation is the first priority of the government.
The Secretary Industries Department presented the report on ranking of the districts regarding the performance in price control. The Chief Secretary directed the districts of Multan, Khanewal, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad to improve their performance, while he appreciated the districts with more than 73 percent score – Chiniot, Narowal, Okara, Pakpattan, Sahiwal and Sialkot. He said that a score of less than 50 percent in performance indicators is not acceptable in any case.
The Chief Secretary said that subsidy is being given to the deserving people through the Ehsaas Ration Riayat Program, providing discounts on four items including flour. He said that the administrative officers should play their role in making the Ehsaas Ration Riayat Program a success.
The meeting was briefed that the authorities conducted more than 30,000 inspections across the province during the last three days, arresting 94 people, registering 48 cases and imposing fines of Rs four million over different violation. The administrative secretaries of industries, agriculture, food departments, Additional IG Special Branch and officers concerned attended the meeting while all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video link.