Wheat support package, digital land transfer system approved
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah speaking at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq in Karachi. SCREENGRAB
The Sindh cabinet on Thursday approved a support package for wheat growers, a blockchain-based system for electronic transfer of land ownership and a 13-storey, 445-bed medical tower at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), as the provincial government moved to expand farmer support, modernise land administration and strengthen healthcare infrastructure.
The cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, considered a 23-point agenda and approved a range of measures relating to agriculture, health, taxation, local government, prosecution, sports and youth development.
Under the wheat support package, farmers owning up to 25 acres will receive subsidies for DAP fertiliser or approved alternatives, while growers supplying wheat to the Food Department will receive an additional incentive linked to the quantity supplied.
The cabinet doubled the additional subsidy for such farmers from Rs1,000 to Rs2,000 per maund. CM Shah said around 550,000 wheat growers across the province would benefit from the package.
The cabinet was informed that 56,741 farmers had supplied more than 2.04 million maunds of wheat to the Food Department during the previous procurement season. The crop was cultivated over 413,507 acres. The approved subsidy package is estimated at Rs14.9 billion, while the additional procurement incentive could take the total allocation to around Rs16 billion, subject to verification and payments.
The chief minister directed the authorities to re-register eligible growers under the Sindh Wheat Growers Support Programme and introduce stronger digital verification to eliminate duplicate and ineligible beneficiaries. Subsidies will be transferred directly into beneficiaries' Benazir Hari Card accounts through Sindh Bank.
The cabinet, however, deferred a decision on the wheat support price for 2026-27 pending further consultations and financial assessments.
Edhi Medical Tower
In the healthcare sector, the cabinet approved construction of the Bilquis and Abdul Sattar Edhi Medical Tower at NICH under a public-private partnership with the Abdul Sattar Edhi Foundation.