LAHORE - The Punjab government will procure the entire wheat production from the growers in a bid to prevent any future food crisis, as the government has not issued wheat permit to any flourmill in the province so far, sources disclosed on Thursday. The government has also strictly stopped the private sector including all the rice, cotton and seed mills from buying wheat from the growers to procure maximum wheat not only for the Punjab but also for Balochistan and NWFP provinces. Official sources further revealed that this time the government has made the wheat purchase procedure more complicated for the millers in order to facilitate the food department to procure maximum wheat from the growers to avoid any further food crisis in the future. "The flour millers will be issued permit only when they will assure the government that they don't have the wheat stock. And in case if the permit is issued, they cannot be allowed to buy wheat exceeding to 72-hour grinding capacity," sources said. The food department has also asked the flour millers to get their truck number registered with the department to procure permit for the wheat purchase. The district food controllers also have not been provided permit books so far, sources maintained. The government has decided to issue permits to the flour millers on the surety of call deposit for wheat procurement but not more than 72-hour of the grinding capacity. The government will take stringent action if the millers will start wheat hoarding, officials said. It may be mentioned here that the Punjab will procure 3 million tonne wheat while 1.3 million tonne wheat will be procured for Balochistan and NWFP on the request of their governments. Officials claimed that the wheat procurement centres have been made functional and 278 gunny bags (bardana) have also been distributed in this regard. On the other hand, the flour supply improved in the City after the government increased Rs 75 per 20-kg flour bag and notified the new price on Wednesday. The market sources said that 30 per cent of the total fair price shops set up by the government on Thursday refused to unload flour bags due to one or another reason, which left the flourmills' trucks with no other option but to supply the flour bags to the dealers, which improved the flour supply in the local market. According to an official handout, as many as 278,000 gunny bags were distributed among the growers at wheat procurement centres set up throughout the Punjab. A spokesman of the Food Department Punjab informed that sufficient gunny bags are available at wheat procurement centres and cultivators can get up to 50 bags on personal guarantee. The spokesman further informed that wheat is being purchased at the new support price of Rs 625 per 40 kg from the growers and Rs 7 per 100 kg are also being paid as delivery charges.