Wheat stocks set for release

Flour prices could finally come under pressure after the Sindh government begins releasing its wheat stocks next month, with Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah saying the move is expected to bring some relief to consumers amid a crackdown that has so far netted 2.5 million 100kg bags allegedly hoarded by traders.

Talking to the media after visiting the shrine of Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in Bhit Shah on Friday, Shah said around one million of the recovered wheat bags had already been released into the market.

He said two assistant commissioners and 11 food department officials had been dismissed or suspended over their alleged involvement in wheat hoarding.

On compensation for land acquired for construction of the M6 Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway, the chief secretary urged affected people who had not received payment to approach their respective district administrations. He said deputy commissioners had already been directed to resolve the remaining compensation cases. Shah recalled that the Sindh government had paid from its own funds for the acquisition of 7,500 acres required for the M6 motorway. He said billions of rupees allegedly embezzled several years ago by former deputy commissioners of Matiari and Naushehro Feroze had also been provincial funds, rather than federal money. "We had paid those funds for purchase of land so that the project should not be delayed," he said.

The chief secretary also said 331,000 farmers had received subsidies for urea purchases last year, with the money transferred directly into their bank accounts. The same digital mechanism, he added, would be used to disburse subsidies during the next season.

Earlier, Shah chaired a meeting in Shaheed Benazirabad to review progress on development projects and discuss administrative matters.

He directed officials to focus on revenue-related issues, protect government land, remove encroachments and improve revenue records.