Proposals sought on subsidy disbursement on wheat procurement

LAHORE: The Punjab government could provide subsidy on wheat procurement only for the province while other provinces’ subsidy issues should be taken up with the federal government.

Clarification on responsibilities of a province and distribution of resources were made clear after the 18th Amendment of the Constitution, said Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht while chairing 66th meeting of the Cabinet Standing Committee on Finance and Development at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here Wednesday.

Other participants in the meeting included Adviser to the Chief Minister on Economic Affairs Dr Salman Shah, Secretary Finance Abdullah Sanbal, Secretary Planning and Development Mujahid Sher Dal and secretaries of relevant departments.

He instructed the Food, Agriculture and Finance Departments to make recommendations after legal consultation with the law department on the disbursement of resources and subsidies. He observed that the federal government should ensure allocation of the resources and shares of the provinces in the subsidy paid to farmers on fertilizers by the provinces to increase production.

Twenty-one recommendations were tabled by various departments at the meeting mainly related to renaming and extension of scope of schemes included in the annual development programme. The Department of Special Education has provided free textbooks to special children, subsidy to increase wheat production, construction of Judicial Complex Depalpur, repair of Punjab House Karachi and various schemes of Department of School Education, Local Government and Communicators and Works were presented.

The meeting approved more than 17 recommendations to include them in the annual development programme. Rescue 1122’s recommendations to increase the funding of the scheme were included in the annual development programme whereas to change the scheme of the Primary and Secondary Health department was postponed for further clarification.