Set up teams to check prices: CM

HYDERABAD: With an intention to control prices of essential commodities, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday directed chief secretary Pankaj Dwivedi to constitute vigilance and price monitoring teams to check prices of vegetables, seeds and fertilisers. Reviewing the prices of essential commodities with the officials at the Secretariat here, the chief minister directed them to constantly monitor the prices on a dayto- day basis and to recommend suitable steps to check them.He also wanted them to closely monitor the prices, availability and supply of foodgrains. The officials informed the chief minister that the Directorate of Economic and Statistics is collecting the prices of essential commodities from 81 market centres across the state.The consumer affairs wing of the food and civil supplies department will review, study and analyse the prices before placing them before the Group of Ministers.The government had earlier constituted the Group of Ministers comprising revenue minister N Raghuveera Reddy, transport minister B Satyanarayana, civil supplies minister D Sridhar Babu and marketing minister M Mukesh Goud for necessary action.