Editorial | Fixing the prices

Certain issues are permanently studded to  Kashmir’s society and administration. One such issue is the fixing of prices for mutton. This issue has involved civil society, media, and administration for long. Time and again it surfaces up and we see administration in a momentary activism, on one hand, and the mutton dealers accusing it of putting the trade in peril, on the other. In the midst of this there are people. People need mutton and they finally pay the price for it. In the times of pandemic this issues has surfaced up again. Although in the beginning people thought of surviving these days somehow, but slowly and gradually the normal tastes, and routine requirements are popping the head above the surface of crisis. 

There are reports that meet is being sold at a higher price than before this pandemic. In certain cases, reportedly, it is too high. After people complain about this, the administration comes up with the usual response. “Since last week we have taken action against scores of erring meat sellers. The action will continue in the coming days too.” This is how an official responded to a question on this matter. The price fixed by the government is way below than what people pay. That way it becomes a plain matter of overcharging, and also the failure of the concerned officials to ensure that the dealers stick to the government rates. But there is always the other side to the story. If we talk to the dealers they have a long defence for what they do. Put in a nutshell, dealers never agree with the government’s way of fixing prices, and to them it is just not mathematically possible to sell meat on that price. In this contest a common consumer is left confused, and he practically follows the dictates of the market.  The question arises that why can’t the concerned officials and the dealers sit down and arrive at some agreement. After all it is not such a complex issue. And why can’t the content of those deliberations be made public so that people also come to know the parameters based on which the government fixes the rates and why the dealers think that those are faulty. Usually, those in this trade accuse government officials of being unmindful of the risks and hidden costs that are involved. The only solution to this is to make the entire thing public, so that there is no exploitation. But at the same time  not to impose conditions and fix rates that make the trade practically impossible.

   

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