Chief Minister Manohar Joshi told mediapersons after a high-level coordination committee meeting that these commodities would be available at old rates in Maharashtra.

``Since it is our commitment to the people of Maharashtra to stabilise prices of the five essential commodities at the 1995 level, we will bear the additional financial burden for the purpose and provide these commodities at the old rates,'' Joshi said.

The Government's additional financial burden on account of this will be Rs 22 crore per month. Joshi said he will take up the issue of hike in the prices of essential commodities with the Prime Minister. ``I feel that the Centre should give special grant for the purpose,'' he said.

The Centre had on Thursday hiked the price of wheat from Rs 2.50 to Rs3.25 per kg for Below Poverty Line and from Rs 4.50 to Rs 6.50 per kg for Above Poverty Line, of rice from Rs 5 per kg to Rs 9.05 and sugar from Rs 11.40 per kg to Rs 12.

When the alliance Government came to power it had declared that it would freeze the prices of sugar, rice, wheat, pulses and kerosene. It also promised to provide these at the old rates, even in case of a hike by the Centre.

Subsequently, the State Government made a budgetary provision for the same. During the last three years, though the prices of rice and wheat were not hiked, the price of sugar under the PDS was hiked on two occasions. However, the Government subsidised the same under the PDS.