Rising food prices in Ramadan | Is it due to the weakness of the current system?

"It simply came to our notice then. The month of Ramadan is approaching at the price of dawn, the banana which is easily available for 80 days, the prices of javacha and lemons on two suits which are already rising with the exception of a few days per kilogram. There are four suite hosts and there are some situations that only point to these events. '

"The reason for the sudden increase due to a lot of efforts is not the rise in IIIs but the rise in prices. Now we have two options, either to admit defeat and sit at home or to come out of the field on our own. The result will be the same after that, because of this more majority will be obtained. ‘

The story told by an officer holding the post of deputy commissioner in a major city of South Punjab a year ago is as interesting and complex as a detective story.

He said that after three or four days of continuous efforts to find out the reason for the sudden rise in prices, when every measure failed, he took a trusted official of his staff with him at 4.30 am and went to the main vegetable market. Arrived and quietly tried to understand the business methods.

According to him, the whole process seemed to be transparent and in accordance with business principles. The morning had turned into a bright daylight, but no solution had been found yet. It seemed to him that even his attempt would fail if a ray of light shone in this state of despair.

They found a man who looked like a laborer and apparently collided with them. The man was also muttering something at the time of the collision, saying in a local Seraiki accent: Find the owner of Babu Ji.

The man said, "When this sentence came to my ears, it was as if a lamp of hope was lit in the pitch darkness and I returned from the market with a new hope and determination."

The former DCO said this with some enthusiasm and said that he then assigned one of his most trusted aides to collect the details of the city's cold storage and the data of their owners.

After three or four days of hard work, it was discovered that there were 16 cold storages in the city. All of these storages belonged to the local MNA or his relatives. The chairman of the market committee himself owned a few of them.

"Thus, for the first time in my career, another dimension of the market came to me and I took the next step in the form of a raid on these warehouses. Kiss the step. '

The former DCO claims that after this operation, the price of lemons was halved and bananas started selling at Rs 60 per dozen and after that the prices remained largely moderate in the days to come.

But the question is, what is the mechanism of profiteering that touches the sky of oppression?

 According to a senior district administration official, the game usually starts with the morning market committees.

 "Trucks, trolleys and sometimes goods loaded on lorries, only vegetables and fruits, reach the middlemen's stalls in the market overnight. Then comes the role of the Dark Market Committees, who set the prices. Ten percent profit on purchase price is legitimate and necessary but the principles of economics of market committee officials are different. Their profit margins usually range from 30% to 50% and on certain occasions many times higher and this is the starting point of inflation in the market.

Those who understand the system of market committees and its history point out that in order to understand the current crisis of extreme inflation, it is necessary to be aware of the history of this system and changes in the relevant laws in the past.

Until 2001, the system of market committees and oversight of market pricing was directly in the hands of the district administration, but when General Musharraf implemented his plan in the name of devolution, the district administration The powers of the district administration were greatly reduced as the powers vested in the district administration were taken away from them and handed over to the judiciary. Thus, the powers of overseeing the market committees, which were previously vested in the district administration, were transferred to the civil judge, and this is where the crisis began.

The crisis arose because the powers to control inflation and profiteering were transferred to the judiciary, but how would it manage the markets like the administration? No new system (mechanism) has been developed in this regard while the old system came to an end with the reduction in the powers of the district administration.

As a result of this loophole in the system, not a single case was registered from 2001 to 2004 to curb profiteering and hoarding, so there is no question of a court case.

During these four years, under General Musharraf, the vacuum became so big that the PML-Q government under his auspices amended the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRCPC). In this regard, the powers of the district administration were restored to some extent but at the same time some other departments were also made responsible for this work including a department of agriculture department, livestock department, environment department, food department and local government department. In addition to the institutions, the market committees themselves were also involved. Now all these institutions work according to their own style and temperament.

After a bitter experience of losing control of the dynamic forces in the market over a period of three to four years, the law was definitely changed, as a result of which a crippled system was gradually created, but in the meantime A vacuum was created due to which the writ of the new market monitoring system could not be established. Many other factors are also important in this weakness of the present system, they can be understood by comparing the old system with the present system.

The difference was made by Rao Manzar Hayat, a former federal secretary (and now a columnist for one of the country's leading Urdu dailies).

He says that under the old system, the Deputy Commissioners, District Magistrates and Assistant Commissioners were very effective in these matters. But twenty-five to thirty percent less.

The reason for this was that these officers had the power to immediately impose fines or imprison large groups depending on the nature of the crime. It was as a result of these options that no vegetable seller, grocery merchant, butcher or shopkeeper selling necessities dared to cross the line.

Rao Manzar Hayat also remembers an interesting event in his career in terms of the powers vested in the district administration.

"It was reported that a counterfeit beverage factory had been set up in the city under the auspices of a few influential people, but action was taken against the factory without delay, with immediate and positive results," he said.

Rao Manzar Hayat says that it cannot be claimed that the system was completely free from defects which maintained the discipline of the markets but it can be claimed that it was an active system because it Under the system, the police department was accountable to the district administration and the district administration, with the help of the police, maintained order in the markets.

The powers that were returned to the civil administration to some extent under the CRPC in 2004 did not make up for the shortcomings created by the collapse of the old system.

What was the utility of the old system?

Rao Manzar Hayat's argument in favor of this demands attention. He says that this is the system from which the administrative structure of the state was derived, so its dissolution was inappropriate.

In contrast, the biggest weakness of the current system is that the police are no longer under the district administration. A present service deputy commissioner says that if the police do not cooperate with him in such cases, he cannot take any action against him.

"Maintaining discipline in the market and controlling artificial inflation, the maintenance and manipulation of the personnel of other departments besides the district administration, hinders the fulfillment of this important responsibility," he said. In other words, because they are not trained for the job, they are ineffective and the market forces are not afraid of them.

"Another weakness of the new system is that whether it is the civil administration or the officers of other departments, the gap between 2001 and 2004 makes them less qualified for this important responsibility than in the past. It is also noteworthy that the government does not seem to be concerned about enhancing their capacity.

According to a senior bureaucrat, very few officials understand their work relatively well and perform better than others.

According to him, the performance of the personnel belonging to the district management group is better than others, although their ability to prosecute and prosecute is much less than in the past.

Another major cause of the problem is the manner in which market committees are formed. Representation of market forces in these committees is very effective but consumer representation is non-existent.

He says that during his career he saw only one professor in Muzaffargarh who represented the customers very effectively and with great courage.

How are market committees formed?

If this secret is understood, then the whole problem of inflation is understood.

According to the law, these committees are formed by the district administration at its discretion by nominating members, but in practice the MPs of the area nominate these members with their influence. Similarly, the presidents and secretaries of these committees are also appointed who come to these positions to protect their own interests under the patronage or in most cases.

So is it just that the government has failed to control rising inflation with each passing day?

In response to this question, the senior bureaucrat said, "Not only that, but the government does not want a solution to this problem." If he had this concern, the system would have been improved instead of holding consecutive meetings under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, contrary to tradition.

The retired white-haired bureaucrat answered and ended the conversation.