Hotel food price hike to be brought under control; bill to be tabled in next assembly session

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Food Price Control Act will be brought to unify the prices of hotel food in the state of Kerala and prevent price increases at will. The draft bill prepared by the Food Department is under consideration by the Law Department.

Minister G.R. Anil has instructed the officials to finalize the bill in a way that it can be presented in the next assembly session. Before that, the Food Department will hold discussions with the hotel/restaurant organizations.

The LDF manifesto promised that action would be taken to control prices. Currently, hotels can increase prices as they see fit. It was the Oommen Chandy government that initiated the attempt to control the prices of food items through legislation. The Food Price Control Bill was prepared when Anoop Jacob was the Food Minister. The bill was to be introduced in the assembly session, but it was sabotaged. Although it was mentioned several times that the bill would be introduced later, it did not happen.

Committee to control prices; change according to commodity prices

• There will be committees at the state and district levels to determine prices. The Civil Supplies Commissioner will be the chairman of the state-level committee. The Collector will be the chairman at the district level. In addition to the officials of the Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Department, public representatives will also be included
• The price fixed once will remain for at least three months. Food prices will increase and decrease according to the prices of rice, spices, vegetables, etc.
• Prices will be determined grade-wise from star hotels to thattukadas. There is also a provision for the hotel owner to pay a fine if the law is violated

The only thing left to be implemented in the LDF manifesto is the Food Price Control Bill. Efforts are being made to make that a reality

-G.R. Anil,

Food Minister