Planning Commission, Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today expressed the hope that price rise of essential commodities, particularly food items will be checked by the end of next month as certain steps had been taken in this context. He said in Amritsar that there was a big gap between the wholesale and retail prices and this gap needed to be bridged. He was in Amritsar today to participate in 69th conference of Indian Society of Agriculture Economics at the Guru Nanak Dev University . Addressing the conference he said that the money which is being used to provide subsidies to the farmers on irrigation, power and fertilizer should be used to create infrastructure in rural areas of the country. Mr. Ahluwalia said that with the development of rural infrastructure, investment will increase in the agriculture sector. With more investment in agriculture sector rural economy will be strengthened. Dr D K Marothia, the Conference President, while delivering his presidential address brought out the need for decentralisation of natural resource management in India. He emphasised that Panchyati Raj Institutions ,user associations, stake-holders and NGOs be given the property rights to manage natural resources in optimal manner.<br/><br/>Dr Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, Indian Council for Research in International Economic Relations and Chairperson of Committee for Urban Infrastructure and the Guest of Honour for the inaugural session, brought out the linkages between agriculture and industry in the context of Punjab State. She emphasised the need for cultivating the synergies through development of agro-processing, biotechnology and growth of rural and urban sectors.<br/><br/>More than 300 representatives of agricultural universities, agriculture departments of different states, officials of Agricultural Price Commission and others related with the agricultural economics are participating in this three day conference.<br/>