Centre to increase NWFP wheat quota: Minister

Frontier Post
By ALI HAIDER

PESHAWAR - The Federal government has decided to increase the NWFP wheat quota from 5000 tons to 5500 tons with immediate effect. This was Provincial food minister Ubaidullah Khan while addressing a press conference at the provincial secretariat on Wednesday. This will help, the Minister said, to ease out the problem of the availability of flour in the province. Provincial Food Secretary Brigadier Azeen will also present on the occasion. The provincial minister also informed the newsmen of the reasons for the shortage of flour in the province and the reasons for the solution.

The province has been hit hard by the burden of 15,0000 to 17,0000 lakh Afghan refugees who are also provided atta from the quota of the province. The problem is being taken up with the federal minister for food and agriculture, Governor NWFP and other concerned agencies. "We discussed this pressing issue with federal minister in depth who has assured us of solution to the problems." he said. Various options have been examined to meet the flour shortage in the province. According to the provincial minister, there were various options, which have been brought to the notice of the federal government.

The options included import of wheat directly by the province to meet its food shortages and the present restriction on the movement of wheat to be lifted, Ubaidullah said. NWFP and Balochistan want the ban to go while Sindh and Punjab have opposed the idea he said adding that a summary is being prepared which will be sent to the Chief Executive who will decide whether to lift the ban or not. We will also suggest increase in the present weight of 124 Kg per head to 133 kg for NWFP because the people depend only on wheat.

The provincial minister for food in his maiden press conference told the journalists that NWFP had produced 12 lakh tonnes of every year wheat every year while its requirement is 28 lakh tonnes, so we need to export 18 lakh tonnes wheat to meet our requirement. The Provincial government is also working out Wheat distribution policy which will sent to the federal cabinet for approval the minister said. Speaking on the occasion Brig Azeem Secretary food made it clear that there was no flour shortage in the province. He claimed that still we have 35 days stock.

He said that the government distributed flour in all districts on the basis of their population ratio and Peshawar, which is the biggest district receiving 1100 tonnes every day. Administration Wednesday distributed flour at 30 points. He said that some vested interest elements trying to create panic amongst the people but there is nothing and just propaganda. Ubaidullah maintained that Afghanistan has also facing wheat shortage and more than three lakh people always crossed the border for getting wheat flour, he said, adding that we are trying our best to improve the situation and control wheat flour smuggling.

The government, he said, would provide flour to Afghans at their camps and to reduce rush in city. Criticising atta dealers he said that the previous government allotted flour quotas to its blue eyed, he said. That's why government at the first step cancelled their licenses and wheat quota of fake atta dealers and replaced them with genuine ones. Similarly, the government had directed secret agencies to collect information regarding the black marketers who create panic and harassment among the people. He warned that strict action would be taken against such people.