Imran Khan tried to stop Kissan Package, says Shahbaz

CM distributes cheques among farmers in Sheikhupura, Narowal

LAHORE:

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan tried to stop the Kissan Package as he has no interest in the welfare of poor farmers, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Monday.

He was visiting Narowal and Sheikhupura to distribute cheques under the prime minister’s relief package for farmers.

“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced a historic Kissan Package for farmers. Imran Khan wrote a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan for stopping the payments and his request was accepted. However, the government went to court which set aside the order,” he said.

The chief minister said that Rs40 billion had been allocated in the Punjab for the implementation of Kissan Package. The chief minister said that a total of 1.18 million farmers would benefit in the province. “A Rs500 subsidy is being given under the Kissan Package on each bag of fertiliser. Rs5,000 per acre is being given to small cotton and rice cultivators,” he said.

The chief minister said that the country’s economy could not be strengthened without promotion of the agriculture sector. The chief minister said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was aware of the problems facing the farmers and had announced the financial assistance to help them.

“In the coming days, our farmers will convert the Rs40 billion subsidy into Rs400 billion through their hard work,” he said. He said that Rs1 billion was being distributed among 43,528 farmers in Narowal district.

The chief minister said that the district administrations should ensure that there was no irregularity in the distribution of assistance to farmers. “Paved roads are being constructed in villages at a cost of Rs50 billion under the Khadim-i-Punjab Rural Roads programmes. Rs500 million is being provided for roads in villages of Narowal for this purpose,” he said.

He said that billions of rupees had been allocated for the provision of potable water to people of rural areas during the next two and a half years.

Addressing farmers in Sheikhupura, the chief minister said that 30,253 farmers were being provided assistance in Sheikhupura district. “Rs500 million has been earmarked for constructing roads in Sheikhupura district. The Punjab government has also allocated Rs15 billion in the current budget for the supply of drinking water in villages,” he said.

The chief minister said that potable water supply would be ensured in Sheikhupura within a year.

He said that work had started on a number of projects to produce electricity. “Thousands of megawatts of electricity will be available in the country by the end of 2017. The electricity will speed up the progress of the industrial and agriculture sectors,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2015.