In a significant step to curb hoarding of essential commodities, the State government is set to fix stock limit for potato and onion in major urban centres of the State.
After inclusion of potato and onion in the essential commodities list, the government has now come forward to finalise the stockholder limits so as to fulfil the criteria of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
“Most likely, the stock limit of 1000 quintals in case of potato and 500 quintals for onion has been finalized for Bhubaneswar,” said sources in Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FSCW) department here on Monday.
Bhubaneswar, the state capital where there is increasing demand of onion and potato, will have a separate chart for wholesale traders and the rest four Municipal Corporations will have another list of stock limit.
“The four other Municipal Corporations Berhampur, Sambalpur, Cuttack and Rourkela will have common quantities of less than Bhubaneswar and in other places of the State the wholesalers will be entitled to stock even less than the four municipal corporations,” sources said.
Stock limit for retailers is also being finalized. “Once the decision is vetted by Law Department, notification would be issued which will be binding for all the wholesalers and retailers. If anybody stocks more than the prescribed limit, he or she will be penalised as per law. It will be easier to check the price-rise and hoarding of onion and potato,” the department said.
Although the decision would help curb hoarding of essential commodities like potato and onion, it will be difficult to take traders to task.
A senior FSCW officer said, “most of the traders are commissioning agent in Bhubaneswar. They have just created storage facilities for wholesalers of potato and onion who are sitting outside the State.”
