Jaitley asks states to crackdown on hoarders

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday announced a series of steps to tackle inflation, and said that the Central government has asked states to crackdown on the hoarders.

"With regard to 4-5 commodities where some increase has been noticed the steps to be taken include advising the states where we have seen tendency of hoarding particularly in anticipation of the fact that you may have a weak monsoon. The states have been advised to crack down on the hoarders.

He also said that in total there are 22 commodities which are under active observation of the government, and added that a series of detailed steps has been decided anticipating any further price hike on account of various factors.

He also informed that states haves been advised to delist fruits and vegetables from Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) list.

"This means that the farmer will have the option of either going through APMC and the middlemen or going to open itself," he said.

He said that Delhi Lieutenant Governor has been advised to issue the order to delist fruits and vegetables tomorrow.

He also announced that minimum export price in relation to potatoes and onions will be fixed by Ministry of Commerce.

"The Delhi Government has been advised in particular to purchase and procure onions through the public system," he said.

He also said that additional quantities of rice will be released in the market. With regard to pulses and edible oils, a line of credit will be extended to states. If there is any shortage in any state, it will be immediately imported.

Earlier, Jaitley held a meeting with various ministers of the government aiming to tackle the menace of inflation. The meeting was attended by ministers whose departments deal with the subject of rising prices. The meeting was also attended by the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister and the secretaries of the concerned departments.