Shillong, April 22: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Tuesday ordered Deputy Commissioners of  all districts to take action against any shopkeeper of overpricing of essential commodities.

“There were some concerns regarding the price of essential commodities going up in different districts. We have already asked the respective Deputy Commissioners to take action in any case where we find any kind of overpricing taking place,” he said in his daily briefings.

“ It is also been mandated that every shop must display the price of different products to the consumer,”  Sangma said urging citizens that if there are any specific cases that come up of overpricing in any part of the state to inform the Deputy Commissioners, who have been authorized to take immediate steps to ensure that there is no overpricing.

The Chief Minister said the government has already activated 1917iTEAMS to ensure that vegetables and fruits are made available to the public.

“1917iTEAMS has already been activated and a large amount of vegetables has been brought from the farmers and distributed at different localities, and we are working on enhancing the capacity of 1917iTEAMS overall,” he said.

The ‘1917iTEAMS’ is an initiative of the State Government that is working in the current crisis situation by procuring farm produces from the farmers and making it available to different parts of the State.

The Chief Minister said the Community and Rural Development Department have cleared the pending bills under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act upto March 31, 2020.

He said all Deputy Commissioners and Block Development Officers have been instructed to ask Village Employment Councils to submit their annual work plans as per the guidelines to ensure that the other works also can continue.