MULTAN

Over 2,000 farmers from across the district got Rs5,000 each under the PM’s Kissan Package as distribution of compensation begun Friday.
DCO Zahid Saleem Gondal told the journalists that over 56,000 small farmers, who hold less than 12.5 acres of land, will get Rs5,000 each under the Kissan Package, adding that Rs1.30 billion has been allocated by the government for this purpose which would be distributed in the next 10 days.
He said that identity of the farmers is being verified through bio-metric system and they are being paid cash on spot after verification.
He said that the farmers of rice and cotton had been included in the package and anyone holding more than 12.5 acres was not chosen. He further cleared that the flood affectees, who had already received compensation, were not selected for the package too.
The DCO told the journalists that a special complaint cell had been set up at his office where the citizens could get registered any complaint regarding the Kissan Package. He assured the journalists that prompt action would be taken on the complaints.
He said that the district government carried out survey for compiling the lists of rice and cotton farmers in a record time as a result of which quick disbursement of Kissan Package became possible. He said that revenue officers had been deployed at all payment centres while concerned assistant commissioners were made in-charge of the payment process.
PCGA REJECTS TAX: The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) rejected on Thursday imposition of Rs5 on each cotton bail and declared that this tax would not be paid whatsoever.
Talking to the media here, the Chairman Shahzad Ali Khan and Secretary General of PCGA Asif Khalil said that the performance of concerned government departments for boosting the production and cotton standardization was very poor.
They pointed out that the central executive committee of the PCGA had rejected cotton cess and the Prime Minister should issue direction for removal of this tax.
They maintained that the research institutes and agricultural scientists performed very poor as a result of which cotton production went down continuously.
They declared that the PCGA had launched a Rabta Mohim (contact drive) to resolve problems faced by the agriculture.
They pointed out that the chambers of commerce and associations had been contacted by the PCGA across the country to draft joint recommendations and send them to the government.
They said that the agriculture had 80 per cent in national economy and government should adopt practical measures to promote this sector.