State’s price-monitoring mechanism to keep essentials’ price rise in check

Guwahati: State govt has set up a price-monitoring mechanism and no significant increase in prices of essential commodities has been observed so far, said CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.

However, Sarma added that he does not want to rule out any the possibility of an impact due to fuel price increase in the coming days.

Replying to the “Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s Address” in the assembly on Tuesday, the CM said, “In view of the ongoing West Asia conflict, we have taken certain austerity measures already. We will bring in more such measures in the budget, which will be presented in July.”

Saying that state govt has recently set up a price-monitoring mechanism, the CM added, “No significant hike in prices of essential commodities has been noticed as compared to the previous prices. However, I don’t want to deny the possible impact on the prices of essential commodities after the hike in petrol and diesel prices.”

Referring to the issue of inflation raised by several MLAs in the House, the CM said it is an issue which cannot be avoided. “After taking charge, the big challenge in front of me is to keep the economy of Assam and the country safe in the coming days,” he added.

Saying that the Iran-America conflict has reduced India’s foreign exchange reserves gradually, he added, “India will not remain free from the impact of the conflict if it does not end. India imports fuel and fertiliser, along with many other products, at a higher cost. PM Narendra Modi is concerned about this aspect. Certainly, we have seen the consequences, including the increase in prices of petrol and diesel.”

He added that in the last four months, the foreign exchange reserves of India have reduced from 720 billion US dollars to 688 billion US dollars. “Even after that, the PM has put efforts so that the common people do not have to take the burden. I hope the increase in prices of petrol and diesel is an issue for the time being and will return to the earlier situation whenever the conflict ends,” he said, while pinning hope that India will soon overcome the situation.