Sindh sets wheat procurement target at 900,000 tonnes

KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet decided on Wednesday to set the wheat procurement target at 900,000 tonnes.

The meeting was held at CM House and was attended by provincial ministers – Sharjeel Memon, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Nasir Shah, Sardar Shah, Saeed Ghani, Jam Khan Shoro, Zia Lanjar, Mohammad Bux Mahar, Haji Ali Hassan Zardari, Zulfiqar Shah, Advisors- Babal Khan Bahyo, Ehsan Mazari, Najmi Alam, Advisors, new Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Advocate General, Prosecutor General, and others.

The cabinet expressed its reservations about the appointment of the Chairman of the Indus Rivers System Authority (IRSA), stating that it violates the water accord.

The cabinet believed that the chairman of IRSA should be selected from among the members of the provinces or the federal government.

No one from outside could be appointed as chairman of IRSA, and doing so would be a clear violation of the accord.

Minister Food Jam Khan Shoro told the meeting a stock of 400,000 tons of wheat is available with the department. He suggested that the department has 800,000 bags of bardana/bags, therefore the wheat target may be fixed at 800,000.

The department after deliberations and discussions decided to fix a target of 900,000 of wheat to be procured for the crop 2023-24 at a support price of Rs4000 per 40 kg.

The CM directed the food department to procure 100,000 bags/ bardana and mobilise food department teams to start procurement of the wheat at the earliest.

Commissioner Karachi Saleem Rajput briefing the cabinet on the initiative taken to control prices of edible items, particularly during the holy month of Ramzan said that the district administration was conducting raids to control prices.

The district administration from March 6, 2024, onwards conducted 1500 raids, registered 1,150 cases, sealed 14 shops, and recovered Rs7.14 million fine. The chief minister directed his cabinet members to start conducting surprise visits to the markets to control the prices.  “I want the notified prices to be ensured in the market,” the CM said and added the raids against the hoarders must continue.

Minister Home Zia Lanjar and IG Police Riffat Mukhtar briefing the cabinet said that from January 1 to March 12, 2024, some 274 murders, 84 cases of kidnapping for ransom and 30 cases of extortion were reported in the entire province.

The police registered 2921 cases of crime against persons, 6486 against property, 4517 local and special law, 163 accidents, and 4643 miscellaneous.

The cabinet was told that compared to last year street crime cases in Karachi decreased by 4.18 per cent. At this, the CM said that the crime rates vary month to month and night has come down, but the impact of its reduction has not been felt by the people of this city. He directed the Home Minister to make the SHOs and SSPs of the area accountable.

It may be noted that 7822 cases of street crime in Karachi were recorded in January 2024, 5876 in February and 2234 in March (till 12 March).

The cabinet was told that out of 78 cases of kidnapping, 49 have been recovered and 29 were still outstanding. Out of 29 kidnapping cases, six belong to Ghotki, nine to Shikarpur, and 14 to Kashmore.

It was pointed out that the kidnapping cases have increased due to tribal feuds. At this, the CM directed the Home Minister to involve a few ministers, district administration and the police to resolve tribal feuds at the earliest. He added that the kidnapping of innocent people for ransom was unacceptable and strict action must be taken against the dacoits.

Red Line: Senior Minister for Transport Sharjeel Inam Memon said that work on the Red Line project has been stopped which has not only caused serious problems for the people of the area but may cause price escalation.

The CM directed the minister of transport to start speeding up work on the project and remove the bottlenecks, if any.