Sindh cabinet fixes wheat procurement price at Rs2,000 per 40 kg

KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet has fixed the minimum procurement support price of wheat at Rs2,000 per 40 kg. It also approved sugarcane support price at Rs202 per 40 kg as its crushing season would start from November. The cabinet meeting was held under Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah here at the Chief Minister's House on Thursday. The cabinet members said that it was high time to fix the support price of wheat to encourage growers for cultivating wheat in great quantity.

They said that the recently imported wheat from Ukraine was very expensive and it cost around Rs5,000 per 40 kg besides not being of good quality.

The agriculture department told the cabinet that the Punjab and Balochistan had proposed to fix the maximum wheat procurement support price at Rs1,700 per 40 kg while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has proposed Rs1,880 per 40 kg.

They unanimously decided to fix the wheat procurement minimum support price at Rs2,000 per 40 kg. “This decision at this time is timely as wheat plantation season, from November 21 to December 15, is approaching, therefore, growers would prefer to grow more wheat because of its good price,” the chief minister said.

The Sindh cabinet also decided the minimum sugarcane price at Rs202 per 40 kg plus Rs 0.50 (50 paisa) quality premium. The cabinet also directed the agriculture department to ensure the starting of crushing season from November 30.

Meanwhile, the cabinet declared the Sir Cowasjee Jehangir (C.J) Institute of Psychiatry, Hyderabad, established at Deh Gidu, taluka Hyderabad, as Protected Heritage under the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act, 1994.

The cabinet directed the Culture department to reconsider its proposal for constructing a building within the compound of Homie Katrak Chamber, situated on Abdullah Haroon Road, Hoshang Road, Karachi. It also accorded post facto approval of the rules framed under the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act 1994.

The minister of Excise, Taxation & Narcotics Control Department asked the cabinet to approve amendments in the Control of Narcotics Substance Act, 1997 by inserting the undefined drugs and rigorous punishment for the offence. The cabinet was told that Neurotoxin Synthetic drugs, which include Ice, Meth and Crystal (Methamphetamine) and Ecstasy and Molly (Midomafetamine) used as recreational/addictive psychoactive drugs, were not defined in the law, hence no punishment was awarded in trial courts. The cabinet approved the proposed draft amendments and referred them to the provincial assembly.