State to bring law to control retail sector monopolies

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 11: Kerala Food and Civil Supplies Minister C Divakaran today said the state government was in favour of a legislation to prevent the entry of monopolies like Walmart and Reliance into the retail sector.

Replying to a submission by N Saktan of the Congress, the Minister said the government would examine all legal aspects before introducing a legislation for the purpose. He pointed out that the state government had already levied a surcharge of ten per cent on retail majors in the state budget for 2008-09.

The government would strengthen the 14,000 ration shops and 2,500 fair price 'Maveli' stores to overcome the challenges posed by the entry of major players. People's bazars would be opened in all the districts, he added.

UNI