LAHORE: Deputy Commissioner Lahore Captain (Retd) Muhammad Ali Ejaz has directed price control magistrates to ensure the sale of naan at Rs20 and roti at Rs14, ordering an intensification of inspections across the district.
The district administration has moved to enforce the notified rates for the two staples after complaints of overcharging at tandoors in several localities.
The Deputy Commissioner said magistrates must remain alert to the implementation of rates for essential commodities including naan and roti, and that the field enforcement plan against profiteering must be executed in full.
There will be no concession for those exceeding the notified rates, he said. The process of price monitoring in the field will be further tightened, and no compromise will be made on the rates of essential commodities.
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Bread prices are the most politically sensitive and the most operationally difficult item in Punjab’s price control regime. Tandoor economics turn on three variables the district administration does not control: the mill price of wheat flour, the price of gas or wood fuel, and the weight of the individual naan or roti.
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The last of these is where enforcement most often fails. A tandoor can comply with the notified price while reducing the weight of the product, leaving the buyer paying the same rate for less bread. Weight checking requires scales at the point of inspection and a notified minimum weight to check against, which makes it substantially more labour-intensive than simply reading a price list on a wall.
Price control magistrates in Punjab operate under the Punjab Price Control of Essential Commodities framework, with powers to inspect, impose fines on the spot and, in aggravated cases, seal premises. Deputy commissioners issue the notified rate lists for their districts based on input costs, and magistrates enforce against those lists.
The district administration has separately moved the entire fine collection process onto the e-Pay Punjab digital platform, banning handwritten receipts and cash recovery — a change intended to ensure that penalties imposed during these inspections are actually recorded and deposited in the treasury.
The renewed push on bread rates comes as households face compounding pressure from fuel and utility costs. Recent increases in petroleum prices feed directly into transport costs for flour, and indirectly into the cost of every commodity moving into the city’s markets.
For most low-income households in Lahore, naan and roti represent the single largest recurring food expense. A two-rupee variance on a daily purchase of six to eight pieces compounds into a meaningful monthly figure — which is why the rate carries a political weight out of proportion to its size.
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