‘For first time in 10 years, sugar mill owners paid growers timely’

LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Food Samiullah Chaudhry has said that under the vision of Prime Minister Pakistan and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, the Food Department has taken a number of steps for safeguarding the rights of cultivators as well as for their welfare as a result of which farmers are getting better returns of their produces.

Addressing a press conference at DGPR Office, he said that it was for the first time during the last 10 years that sugar mill owners had made timely payment to cane growers at the rate of Rs180 per maund. He said the present government had successfully made the sugar mill owners of the previous government to pay to the growers 99 percent of the blocked payment of Rs. 27 billion. He said that 700 FIRs had been registered against middlemen who were exploiting cultivators besides imposing a fine of Rs5.1m on sugar mills.

Appointed: Aezaz Ahmad Khan, principal Govt Technical High School, Bahawalpur, has been transferred and posted as Director Public Instructions (EE) Punjab. Mushtaq Ahmad Sial, the Additional DPI (EE) who was holding additional charge has been relieved of the charge.

Uplift schemes: The Punjab government on Tuesday approved three development schemes of different sectors at an estimated cost of Rs3.381 billion while other four schemes of agriculture sector sum of Rs26.026 billion was recommended for final approval by the federal government. The approved schemes included: Upgradation of THQ Hospital Taunsa, District DG Khan from 100 to 190 bedded at the cost of Rs1,378.14 million, Propagation of Backyard Poultry for Increased Availability of Animal Protein to Counter Stunted Growth at the cost of Rs290.170 million, Enhancing Beef Production through Save the Buffalo Claves and Feedlot Fattening at the cost of Rs1,712.874 million. Furthermore, different schemes of agriculture sector named as National Programme for Enhancing Profitability through increasing Productivity of Wheat at the cost of Rs12,535 million, National Oil Seed Enhancement Programme at the cost of Rs5,115 million, National Programme for Enhancing Profitability through increasing Productivity of Sugarcane at the cost of Rs2,048.9 million and National Programme for Enhancing Profitability through increasing Productivity of Rice at the cost of Rs6,327.76 million were cleared in the PDWP and also sent to CDWP development forum for its final approval.