Maharashtra will form a committee to fix the prices of masks and sanitizers, Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday.

The decision has been taken in light of the increased usage of these products amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The use of masks and sanitizers has increased due to the outbreak of corona and a committee will be constituted by the state government to determine their prices. Through it, we should try to give relief to the common people,” Tope said.

A meeting was held on Wednesday to discuss the need for controlling the prices of these commodities.

The State government will also urge the Centre to add masks and sanitisers under the Essential Commodities Act, he said.

The central government, in an office memorandum issued on July 1 had said that it will be removing these items from the list of essential commodities as “there was no adverse reports from the States/UTs with respect to their price and availability,” as per previous reports.

Most recently, an Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has said that alcohol-based hand sanitiser will attract an 18 per cent GST as per previous reports.