Punjab govt decides to regulate chicken, ghee prices: sources

LAHORE: In a bid to control the soaring inflation, the Punjab government has decided to regulate the prices of chicken and ghee in the same manner, the sugar prices are set by the provincial authorities, ARY NEWS reported quoting sources.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is visiting Lahore to get briefings on the performance of the Punjab authorities in the wake of the COVID-19 situation and inflation.

The sources privy to the decision said that the government has decided to regulate the prices of ghee and chicken, in the same manner, it sets sugar prices.

The decision was made after the prices of both commodities have witnessed a massive hike.

It is pertinent to mention here that on March 10, the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued notices on a petition seeking directives for the government to bring down prices of chicken in the province.

After a preliminary hearing, a bench of the high court directed the provincial government and other official respondents to submit their comments on the writ petition at the next hearing.

The petitioner stated before the court that the government has failed to control the rising prices of chicken. The court was requested to order the authorities concerned to take concrete steps to bring down the prices of chicken.

The prices of chicken went up considerably with chicken meat being sold at as high as Rs500 per kg in Karachi and Rs365 per kg in Lahore and Rs400 per kg in Islamabad.