HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on Monday gave approval to ‘incentive to informer’ scheme, offering a maximum of four per cent of confiscated value, to get at hoarders and blackmarketeers.

The four per cent would be shared equally after final confiscation, by informers and enforcement officers. A maximum ceiling of Rs.10 lakh incentive is fixed for the officials during their period of service.

He also directed the Civil Supplies department to supply one kg of Bengal gram (sanaga pappu) at Rs.30 and a kg of yellow peas (battana) at Rs.20 every month to white ration card holders in urban areas as a pilot scheme.

These steps which would be in addition to the half kg red gram (toor dal) being supplied every month through fair price shops now was part of the government efforts to control the prices of essential commodities and sugar, according to a press release from the Chief Minister’s Office.

Dr. Reddy has decided to write a letter to the Central government to fix the price or allow the State government to do the same through a special order, for superfine rice and pulses for seizure, de-hoarding and release of these commodities. This was necessary as the seized goods could be released and sold through fair price shops at the government fixed price only. This would avoid the problem now encountered by the enforcement authorities when the case was settled.

He also announced the decision to reconstitute the Food Advisory Committees at the district and mandal levels. It will comprise 12 members with equal number of official and non-official members and will function as a price monitoring committee. The Collector will head the district level committee and Mandal Praja Parishad president at the mandal. The panels will take strong decisions at the local level and review the availability of food grains, prices, instances of hoarding, blackmarketing and profiteering.

Civil Supplies Minister, Jupalli Krishna Rao, Advisor to the government, D. V. Somayajulu and officers attended the review meeting.

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