Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible,” goes an old saying that aptly describes Karachi’s price-control regime. Despite laws and notifications in place, enforcement remains selective and superficial.
The Commissioner Karachi’s role includes fixing and enforcing prices for essential commodities like meat, milk, poultry, vegetables, and fruits. Yet, vendors openly violate notified prices without fear or embarrassment while consumers are left with no choice but to accept the inflated prices or face ridicule.
In an attempt to address this issue, Commissioner Counters were introduced in medium-size and large retail outlets. The idea was to offer immediate redress and deter overcharging. However, these counters have vanished quietly, reflecting a lack of enforcement and a sense of certainty that consequences are unnecessary.
This pattern has repeated itself with the plastic bag ban. Despite initial efforts to replace plastic bags with paper ones, plastic bags soon returned as if the ban had never existed. The implication is clear: selective enforcement masquerading as reform.
The issue extends beyond these specific cases. If laws are not enforced in high-visibility areas of Karachi, they are likely absent elsewhere. This lack of enforcement has led to a normalization of non-compliance and a loss of fear of consequences for vendors and retail chains.
What is needed is administrative resolve. Enforcement and reporting staff must be shaken up. Commissioner Counters must be restored in all major retail outlets, the plastic bag ban must be enforced uniformly, and visible actions must restore public confidence that laws are still being respected. Until then, these measures will remain more than just a mockery of the law.