M A I N   N E W S

Govt wakes up to rein in price rise
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 13
Under attack from the Opposition and also from some of its own allies on rising food prices, the Congress-led UPA government today decided to release surplus wheat and rice into the market. To increase the availability of sugar, the Center also relaxed norms for processing of raw sugar by mills in other states and allowed duty-free import of white sugar till December-end.

The measures, which include selling of two to three million tonnes of wheat and rice in the open market over next two months and asking state-owned trading firms to intensify import of pulses from all sources, was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Prices chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Announcing the slew of measures designed to increase availability of sugar, pulses and other essential commodities in the market, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar hoped prices would start declining in a week’s time, quite unlike two days back when posed a similar question he said that he was not an “astrologer” who could “predict”.

After today’s meeting, Pawar said: “These steps would definitely impact the price situation. Prices would come down in four to eight days”. Shifting the Centre’s responsibility considerably on states, he asked them to play more active role in containing rising food prices through effective de-hoarding.

The Prime Minister will also meet chief ministers in the last week of January, most likely January 27, to review the situation with them. Pawar said the Prime Minister would discuss implementation of the Essential Commodities Act with chief ministers to prevent hoarding and ensure full lifting of wheat and rice allocated to States.

With food inflation touching 20 per cent, the price rise has become a major challenge for the UPA. The BJP is planning a nationwide protest on the issue on January 18.

At today’s meeting several ministers, including Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, voiced concern on rising prices. Banerjee wanted Pawar to state steps being taken to correct the situation and is understood to have suggested a complete ban on export of essential commodities.

Meanwhile, most of the CCP decisions were targeted at wheat, rice and sugar. In order to ensure continuous availability of sugar in the market white or refined sugar will be allowed to be imported at zero per cent duty up to December 31, 2010. There will be no qualitative cap on imports, Pawar said, adding: “The Centre has waived duty on sugar, but some governments imposed VAT”.

Pawar said: “Bulk of raw sugar still lying in ports as Uttar Pradesh imposed restrictions. We have urged the state government to lift restrictions, but to no avail”, adding several state governments have been advised not to impose value added tax (VAT) on imported sugar.

Additionally, steps will be taken to check smuggling of sugarcane and sugar from India to Nepal. The Ministry of Home Affairs will reiterate instructions to the forces to strictly check smuggling of the sweetner.

The Centre may increase the subsidy on imported edible oil from the prevailing rate of Rs 15 a kg. The subsidy scheme for public distribution of imported edible oil under the states will continue till October 31, 2010. It was to earlier lapse on March 31.

Cooperative major NAFED and the National Consumer Cooperative Federation (NCCF) will be authorised to distribute subsidised imported oil and pulses in states that are not implementing the scheme. Up to five lakh tonnes of wheat and two lakh tonnes of rice would also be distributed through NAFED and NCCF.

BJP rejects Centre’s charge

New Delhi: The BJP today rejected Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s charge that states were not lifting their quota of ration foodgrains causing untold burden on the poor people on account of price rise in essential commodities.

Reacting within minutes to the meeting of the Union Cabinet on price rise held here today, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad challenged the Agriculture Minister to come out with specific data about states to prove his point and alleged that Pawar’s style of functioning was aiding speculators and hoarders.

However Prasad’s criticism of Pawar betrayed an unexplained softening of tone by the BJP, which had only the other day sought Pawar’s resignation or alternately Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sacking him for his inability to curb price rise.

The BJP spokesman claimed that prices of essential commodities were rising due to the “ad hoc and haphazard” handling by the government. He said, “Pawar’s statement on price rise is completely irresponsible. To cover his mistakes, he is passing on the blame to the states.” Pawar had accused the state governments of not heeding to the Centre’s advice on controlling inflation leading to galloping sugar prices.

Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar dismissed Opposition parties’ demand asking him to quit, saying that it was part of their job. “...This type of demand is their job. Nothing wrong with it…We know what we have done and what we are doing,” Pawar said when asked about the BJP’s demand for his resignation.

NCP supremo said, “This year I have completed 43 years without a single day break in public life, with more than 23 years in government”. He added that he was not under any pressure and many of the decisions announced today to check rising prices were taken earlier.

Homemakers take govt to task, move SC
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, January 13
Citing galloping food price inflation that had touched an 11-year high of 19.95 per cent last month, a group of housewives under the banner of Home Makers Front has moved the Supreme Court seeking a directive to the Congress-led UPA government to implement the ‘aam aadmi-centric’ election manifesto.

According to the Delhi-based front, the Congress won the 2009 Lok Sabha election on the slogan of ‘Aam aadmi ke badhte kadam, har kadam par Bharat buland’ but the government had miserably failed to effectively implement market intervention policies to bridge the demand-supply gap in essential commodities. Wholesale food price inflation had touched a record 19.95 per cent for the week ending on December 5, it pointed out.

The petition said that while ‘aam aadmi’ was reeling under unprecedented price rise, the Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra governments were not permitting millers to import raw sugar for processing and marketing.

It sought a direction to the Centre for allowing the sugar factories to lift, refine and market nine lakh tonnes of imported raw sugar lying at Kandla port. Steps should be taken before the stock was decayed becoming unfit for human consumption.

The petitioner has also sought lifting of the ban on the import of other essential commodities such as wheat, rice, pulses and edible oils. Even as the PIL was filed, the government allowed duty-free import of sugar for a year.

Pawar briefs media on PM’s directive
Anita Katyal
Our Political Correspondent

New Delhi, January 13
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today personally asked Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to give a detailed briefing to the media on the measures being taken to control spiralling prices of essential commodities.

Pawar, it is learnt, was initially reluctant to meet the press, but was persuaded by the Prime Minister at today’s two-hour-long Cabinet Committee of Prices (CCP), where all senior ministers expressed concern over rising prices and stressed the need for taking speedy measures to deal with the problem.

Senior ministers, including Pranab Mukherjee, AK Antony and Ambika Soni, were learnt to be worried that the UPA government was loosing the propaganda war, as an overwhelming impression has gained ground that it has not done enough to bring down the prices.

It was, thus, suggested that special efforts be made to communicate the government’s actions to the public in detail and at regular intervals. Sharad Pawar’s exhaustive 45-minute-long media briefing this afternoon was the first step in this direction.

“There is a general perception that the Centre is not doing enough to deal with the rising prices, which is not true. The government has taken several measures in this regard,” remarked a senior UPA minister. Emphasising the need for an information campaign, Defence Minister AK Antony is learnt to have said that incorrect or half-baked information had resulted in a “scarcity scare” when there is actually no shortage of essential commodities.

The Finance Minister, who briefed the CCP members on the recent inflationary trends, cautioned that instead of blaming the state governments, the Centre should first put its house in order and see if it had taken all necessary measures to tackle this problem.

While ministers who attended today’s meeting were quick to clarify that there was no attempt to put Pawar in the dock for the current spurt in prices, they admitted that there was all-round concern and everybody, including the Prime Minister, is feeling the heat in this regard.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has publicly voiced concern over the rising prices of essential commodities, spoke at length on this issue, saying that some state governments (read West Bengal government) were not doing anything and were instead blaming the Centre for the price spiral. Ambika Soni and Ghulam Nabi Azad are stated to have been especially concerned about how rising prices were adversely impacting the common man, particularly since the “aam admi” was at the centre of the Congress party’s poll campaign.