KARACHI- The Sindh Government has fixed the wheat procurement target of 1.3 million tons during the upcoming harvesting of the wheat crop and decided to start procurement from the end of March 2014.
This was decided in the meeting regarding wheat procurement plan for crop-2013-14 held at CM House Karachi on Thursday.
The Sindh Minister for Food Jam Mehtab Dahar, Sindh Minister for Local Government, Shajreel Enam Memon, Advisor to Chief Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Secretary Sindh Saleem Sajjad Hotiyana, Additional Chief Secretary Food Naseer Ahmed Jamali, Secretary Finance Sohail Rajput, Additional Secretary CM House Captain Anwar Ahmed and other officers attended the meeting.
Addressing the meeting, the Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah directed the officers of Food Department to ensure that each grower should be provided Bardana. He directed that Bardana must be made available at the places accessible to each grower and to ensure that target of wheat procurement is achieved.
The Chief Minister Sindh also directed to all Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners in Sindh to take strict action against hoarders, blackmailers who by creating artificial shortage of wheat, charging high prices from the people. He directed for strictly implementation on the crpc-144 to maintain the demand and supply of the wheat.
The Chief Minister Sindh while lauding the role of the provincial Food Department said that due to the farmers friendly policies of the present Government good production of wheat was harvested, procured and channelised in a systemic way and required wheat quota was regularly supplied to flour mills and to Atta Chakki owners. It was Sindh province where flour is available to each common man at the rate of Rs 42/Kg as compared to Rs 48 in Punjab province and Rs 52 at Islamabad, he added and said that Sindh Government is spending billions of Rupees on subsidy and support price not only to benefit the growers community but consumers interest as well.
Chief Minister Sindh said that with grace of God, the upcoming wheat- crop would be a bumper one. He directed the officers to increase the wheat storage capacity so that we can get benefit by exporting the surplus production in future.
Sindh Minister for Food Jam Mehtab Dahar while briefing the meeting said that in addition to 2 million available jute bags, 11 million more bags to be required for the wheat procurement. He said that he himself to visit each district to get feedback from the growers to ensure judicious supply of Bardana to them. He said that his department has planned to establish control room to get complaints. He assured that Bardana be made available at the place, easily accessible to each individual. While discussing on the subject for the fixation of Government support price of the wheat, the meeting decided that wheat support price would be fixed in the end of February 2014. The Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah constituted two-member committee with Additional Chief Secretary Food Naseer Jamali and Secretary Finance Sohail Rajput to discuss and decide about the financial assistance needed to the food department in the head of subsidy and cost of jute bags, transportation and other activities.