Punjab Senior & Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan on Tuesday claimed that the Punjab government has to bear a huge burden in shape of subsidy to the tune of Rs5.25 billion due to stubbornness of the Sindh government, which has failed to release a single wheat grain to flour mills to maintain prices in the market.
“For the past two months, the Punjab government has been supplying wheat to flour mills at a subsidized rate of Rs1,475 per maund to keep prices of a 40kg flour bag at Rs860.”
In his exclusive talk, Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said that currently only the Punjab government is officially releasing subsidized wheat to flour mills.
“A 20 kg flour bag is being sold at Rs860 in Punjab, which is available at Rs1,400 in the open market in Karachi.” He regretted that this attitude of the Sindh government is not only impacting people in Sindh but unfortunately the entire country.
The senior minister said that in order to reduce the prices, it was necessary to have a uniform release price of wheat across the country so that flour could be available to the citizens everywhere at the same price.
If wheat is released in other provinces to flour mills then the price of flour will come down as the situation is aggravated by the transfer of wheat and flour from Punjab to other provinces.
Abdul Aleem Khan said that the Punjab government is well aware of its responsibilities.
He said that all resources are being utilized for supply of flour but the Sindh Government is showing utter negligence in this regard which puts all the pressure on the Punjab province.
He pointed out that Punjab alone cannot bear the burden of the entire country. In order to reduce the prices of wheat and flour, flour mills across the country need to get uniform government wheat, like Punjab province”, he stressed.
Meanwhile, Punjab Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has directed the Special Education Department to use latest technology and modern equipment like the ones developed countries use for the rehabilitation of children with special needs in the province.
He directed that there should be practical action undertaken to normalize these children and restore their hearing and vision, for which the individual level of special needs children should be tested through the consultation of experts from the private sector.
While presiding over the review meeting of Special Education Department Abdul Aleem Khan took a detailed briefing in which Provincial Minister for Special Education Chaudhry Akhlaq Hussain and senior officers were also present.
