Tamil Nadu Govt Promises Steps Within Days to Control Essential Commodity Prices

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday promised to roll out measures within days to ease the burden of rising essential commodity prices on consumers, responding to a united push by Opposition members in the Legislative Assembly in Chennai.

Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Protection and Price Control Minister P Venkataraman informed the House that the government is closely monitoring market trends and will take concrete measures soon. He noted that the state's price monitoring committee is currently tracking 41 essential commodities across Tamil Nadu and will assess the situation before initiating action within three to four days.

Venkataraman attributed the recent surge in prices partly to the Iran war and an accompanying fuel crisis.

The minister was responding to a special call-attention motion moved by Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, AIADMK floor leader Edappadi K Palaniswami, and legislators from the PMK, Congress, and Left parties.

Raising the issue, Udhayanidhi detailed the steep rise in prices over recent months and recalled the special distribution scheme introduced in 2007 by then chief minister M Karunanidhi. Under that scheme, 11 essential grocery items were supplied for Rs 50 through the Public Distribution System to shield citizens from price shocks.

Udhayanidhi urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to convene a joint meeting with the ministers for finance, cooperation, and civil supplies to implement an immediate intervention and prevent further price escalation.