About 80 per cent of the funds allocated for the package will be spent in subsidising wheat flour. PHOTO: APP
LAHORE:
The provincial government is set to announce a Rs6 billion package for subsidies on various food products during the month of Ramazan, The Express Tribune has learnt.
About 80 per cent of this amount, Rs5 billion, will be spent on subsidising wheat flour available at Ramazan Bazaars as well as open market across the province.
According to a document on the Ramazan Package available with the Tribune, 400 Ramazan Bazaars will be established across the province where wheat flour, fruits and vegetables will be available at subsidised rates.
The brief says the price of a bag of wheat flour at the Ramazan Bazaars should be Rs80-100 less than the market price immediately before the beginning of the month. It adds that the price of the same bag in the open market should be Rs40-50 less than the market price immediately before the beginning of the Ramazan.
It directs the department concerned to pack flour for the Ramazan bazaars in green bags to distinguish it from flour to be sold in the open market during the month. Flour for open market is to be packed in white bags, it says.
The brief directs the department concerned to ensure a Rs10 per kg difference in the price of sugar sold at Ramazan Bazaars and open market. Other items that will be available on subsidised rates include onions, potatoes, bananas and apples.
Parliamentary Secretary Rana Muhammad Arshad says the bazaars will be operational by June 16. He says tehsil and district level price control committees will be in charge of administration at the bazaars. District coordination officers as well as national and provincial assembly members concerned will monitor the bazaars to ensure that the subsidies are passed on to the consumers, he adds.
A senior official who attended a briefing to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on the Ramazan package says stalls will be set up at the Ramazan Bazaars by both the Agriculture Department and the Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistan.
He says the government will also set up 600 Madni Dastarkhwans (soup kitchens) across the province where free sehr and iftar meals will be served to the public. Standard operating procedures (SOP) will soon be circulated among departments concerned to ensure that they finalise their preparations for the month in time.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2015.
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