Federal govt responsible for delay in sugarcane crushing alleges CM

Murad Ali Shah says Centre, Sindh working to provide subsidy, export excess sugar

KARACHI: Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has said that due to the wrong policies of the federal government, a dispute between growers and sugar mill owners has emerged, resulting in the latter’s refusal to start crushing and the subsequent standing sugarcane crop turning pale.

He said this while speaking to the media after inaugurating the Hub River and Surjani-Madinatul Hikmat Road near Hamdard University on Saturday. He was accompanied by Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammad Ali Malkani, Works and Services Minister Imdad Pitafi, MPA Saeed Ghani and Local Government Secretary Ramzan Awan, among others.

The CM said that the matter of sugarcane crushing had been taken up in the Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting held on Friday in Islamabad. “I told them that the problem has been created by the federal government by adopting wrong policies,” he said, adding that the federal government imposed a ban on the export of sugar in December, 2016 and from January to April 2017, therefore the sugar in godowns could not be exported.

He said that Pakistan produces around eight million tons of sugar every year, against which the local consumption is barely five million. “This shows that every year we have three million tons of sugar in excess,” Shah said, adding that had the federal government not imposed a ban there would be no issue of surplus stock. He added that with the Centre’s policies the mechanism of demand and supply became unbalanced and now we are facing a serious situation.



Shah said that in the international market there is a price difference of around Rs15, therefore the federal government assured the provincial governments during the CCI that it would give a subsidy on the export of sugar for which the provincial governments would also share some of the financial burden.

The CM said that the CCI meeting was informed that no sugar mill has started crushing in Punjab but nobody has started a protest or dared to come out onto the roads there. As a matter fact, Punjab has to start crushing from November 1, said Shah. “But in Sindh the sugarcane crushing matter has been politicised and this politicisation is causing a loss to the growers,” he lamented, adding that his government supported the farmers who worked hard and invested money into growing their crops. He added that the standing sugarcane crop was turning pale and the harvesting must start now.

The CM said due to the conflict, the federal and provincial governments have decided to intervene to start the crushing season and disposal of the sugar stock via exports.

“The Sindh government is in coordination with the federal government to work out a plan to give a subsidy and announce the sugarcane price,” he announced.

Taking a stand

Speaking about Governor Mohammad Zubair, the CM said that while he is a good friend, he is unaware of the facts. “The Green Line Bus Rapid Transit project has been delayed due to the non-serious attitude of the federal government,” he said, adding that the federal government has only released Rs5 billion of the Rs16 billion allocated for the project, which is why it has not been completed despite the lapse of four years.



“Had it been started in Punjab it would have been completed in a year,” he alleged.

Shah directed the transport minister to make necessary provisions for concessional student tickets in the BRT system.

Census blocks

The CM said that he had pressed the federal government to ratify 3% census blocks to make the census credible but at that time they agreed to ratify only 1%. “In the CCI meeting, the federal government agreed to ratify 5% of the census blocks so that the people of the country can trust [the census results]. This is a good move and I hope the ratification would make the results credible,” Shah said.

Shah inaugurates two major roads

Shah inaugurated the Hub River and Surjani-Madinatula Hikmat roads at their sites during a simple ceremony on Saturday.

Hub River Road, a part of the Karachi mega project started in December 2016, has been completed within 15 months. It is a 12-kilometre-long road and was constructed at a cost of Rs1.25 billion. A storm water drain spreading over 1.62km has also been constructed on the side of the road.

The Surjani-Madinatual Hikmat Road was constructed within six months with the additional construction of a road from the Northern Bypass to Hamdard University. The cost of the project was Rs1.25 billion. It has a three lanes on each side and is a dual carriage way.

The CM said that the projects launched under the Karachi Package’s first phase are nearing completion and the second phase will be launched on December 15.