LAHORE:The Punjab government has decided to activate a portal immediately to prevent hoarding of fertilizers and monitor their supply.
It has issued instructions to all relevant departments and divisional commissioners in that regard.
The directions were issued during a meeting jointly chaired by Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal and Federal Secretary Industries Jawwad Rafique Malik at the Civil Secretariat here on Saturday.
The meeting also decided to take action against the government officials who are playing the role of middlemen in fertilizer business.
Speaking at the meeting, the chief secretary said that through the portal, the officials would be able to fully monitor the supplies to dealers from the fertilizer companies and obtain information about the stocks available in each district. He directed the Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) to immediately give all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners access to the portal.
The chief secretary asked the field officers to ensure a prominent display of banners showing prices of fertilizers and contact numbers for registering complaints in case of overcharging. He also issued instructions regarding sealing shops of the profiteers and keeping a check on the movement of fertilizers in the bordering districts.
The federal secretary industries said that all commissioners and deputy commissioners should ensure availability of fertilizers at the rates fixed by the government. He said that the sale of urea at a price higher than Rs 1,768 per bag could not be allowed in any case.
The meeting was briefed that according to the report of the Special Branch, the crackdown on hoarders helped bring down the prices of fertilizers in the province.
The additional chief secretary, chairman PITB, additional secretary industries division and officers concerned attended the meeting while all the divisional commissioners participated through video-link.