Assam: Uncontrolled Price Surge Exposes Department's Lack of Regulatory Grip

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: A farmer at Kharupetia gets Re 1 after selling a lemon that is sold at higher prices as far as it goes. Guwahati is 80 km from Kharupetia, and as such, a lemon is sold in Guwahati on an average price of Rs 10. It is amply clear that this increase in price does not benefit the farmers (producers), nor does it benefit the consumers. The major chunk of the profit goes to the middlemen because of the lack of mechanisms to regulate them. This is the case with every other vegetable.

The prices of essential commodities go up almost every month. The department concerned with the state government has the habit of washing its hands of the price hike with its stereotype reply to aggrieved people, ‘We have no role to play as the prices of such commodities have been hiked at their sources’. According to a recent all-India-level survey, the prices of 12 essential commodities have increased by over 40 percent from 2019 to 2024. It is a fact that almost all commodities consumed in Assam come from outside the state.

According to official sources, for various reasons the prices of most of the essential commodities are increased at their sources, and that leaves little scope for the department concerned in Assam for intervention other than monitoring hoarding and other unscrupulous practices.

Talking to this reporter, a few retailers said that when they get new packages of commodities from wholesalers, they find an increase in MRP rates by Rs 2–5 frequently. They rue the fact that they have to face customers’ wrath for such an increase in prices.

At present, in all markets in Guwahati, no vegetable is sold below Rs 80 per kg when potatoes and onions are sold at Rs 50-60 kg. Around three years ago, when onion prices hit nearly Rs 100 per kg, the Kamrup (M) district administration did open counters to sell onions at subsidised rates. However, no such counter is seen now in Guwahati.

According to sources in the Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Department, vegetables do not come under their jurisdiction, and the fixation of prices is dependent on demand and supply. Vegetables being perishables, the vendors always want to recover their invested money as fast as possible to make up the loss of damage. Around 30 percent of vegetables get wasted due to poor post-harvest management and the lack of a cold chain in the state.

Consumers of different walks of life want to say that the price of each and every item—essential commodities, vegetables, medicines, construction materials, and whatnot—is hiked frequently. They, however, made it a point that no concrete and sincere approach from the departments concerned is visible in the state.

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