Minister says he rejected proposals many times
Provincial Food Minister says proposal on withdrawal of subsidy on wheat was shared with him but he rejected it.
GILGIT:
Provincial Food Minister Mohammad Jaffer has said that the proposal on the withdrawal of subsidy on wheat was shared with him time and time again but he rejected it.
“I received proposals from the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs to increase rates of wheat on four occasions but I summarily rejected it,” said the senior minister.
He was talking to The Express Tribune on Saturday, after rumours spread in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) that the prices of wheat and flour were being raised by 100 percent, as the subsidy offered by the federal government to G-B on wheat was being withdrawn.
It may be mentioned that in case the government concedes to the IMF conditions and withdraws subsidy on the wheat, a 40-kilogramme bag of flour will cost over a thousand rupees in Gilgit as against the current price tag of Rs530 per 40kg.
“I told the officials who informed me about the proposal that they don’t have to worry as he was prepared to face the consequences for not raising the prices,” he said.
He also said that the Pakistan Agriculture Service and Storage Corporation (Pasco) had stopped the supply of wheat to G-B recently, as it demanded a clearance of outstanding money, which stood currently stands at Rs6 billion.
“Pasco was right in demanding the outstanding money as the previous government didn’t pay the money to them”, he claimed.
The minister said that the floods have damaged crops this year across the country, but remarked that the availability of subsidies rather than the availability of wheat was the real issue.
To a question, the minister said that the flour mills were the hub of corruption, as the mill owners connive with civil supply officials to earn huge benefits.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2010.
Provincial Food Minister Mohammad Jaffer has said that the proposal on the withdrawal of subsidy on wheat was shared with him time and time again but he rejected it.
“I received proposals from the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs to increase rates of wheat on four occasions but I summarily rejected it,” said the senior minister.
He was talking to The Express Tribune on Saturday, after rumours spread in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) that the prices of wheat and flour were being raised by 100 percent, as the subsidy offered by the federal government to G-B on wheat was being withdrawn.
It may be mentioned that in case the government concedes to the IMF conditions and withdraws subsidy on the wheat, a 40-kilogramme bag of flour will cost over a thousand rupees in Gilgit as against the current price tag of Rs530 per 40kg.
“I told the officials who informed me about the proposal that they don’t have to worry as he was prepared to face the consequences for not raising the prices,” he said.
He also said that the Pakistan Agriculture Service and Storage Corporation (Pasco) had stopped the supply of wheat to G-B recently, as it demanded a clearance of outstanding money, which stood currently stands at Rs6 billion.
“Pasco was right in demanding the outstanding money as the previous government didn’t pay the money to them”, he claimed.
The minister said that the floods have damaged crops this year across the country, but remarked that the availability of subsidies rather than the availability of wheat was the real issue.
To a question, the minister said that the flour mills were the hub of corruption, as the mill owners connive with civil supply officials to earn huge benefits.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2010.