PA proceedings: Sindh govt says there exists no wheat crisis in province

KARACHI: The treasury on Friday ruled out any wheat crisis in the province, informing the Sindh Assembly on fresh commodity procurement to meet a target of 1.4 million tons.

Sindh Excise and Taxation Minister, Mukesh Kumar Chawla told the house that the province is procuring wheat for this season to meet the officially set target of 1.4 million tons.

The province, he said, has already imported 400,000 tons of wheat and it is engaged in further buying of the commodity. He ruled out any wheat crisis that Sindh is facing, saying that Karachi has the commodity stocks.

Replying to a question, he said the collected revenues is deposited in the government’s account. He said that the government collected Rs3 billion of tax in which Karachi’s share stood for Rs1.786 billion.

In 2022, he said that the tax collection reached Rs5 billion. Some 4 percent tax is placed on motor vehicles beyond 1600 cc and the entire province has 4.3 million registered vehicles, he said that all districts have the registration offices.

The non-custom vehicles are dealt with by the Customs, he said that such a matter does not fall in the Sindh government’s jurisdiction. He also informed the house that the Sindh government has also started registration of dump trucks.

Regarding narcotic sales, he said that the government has undertook a clampdown on ice drug makers and confiscated the manufacturing tools worth Rs5 billion. It was the biggest ever crackdown in Sindh, he said.

Further action is also under way, he said, adding that he has also directed his department to step up its clampdown to produce results in Keamari Town on ending drugs sales.

About liquor stores, Mukesh said that there is a law prohibiting such a business in an area, where schools are established. He said that there is no law permitting drinking liquor in public even for non-Muslims.

He acknowledged that there have been complaints coming about drugs sales in schools. He said that the private managements avoid confirming such complaints because of disrepute fears.

He said that the fears of disrepute cannot upstage the children health. He also requested to the Sindh Education Minister to brief the house in this regard.

Sindh Health Minister, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho told the house that her department is opening an anti-narcotics center to train the officials on treating addicts.

A taskforce will be formed to visit schools and colleges and see the students, though testing children needs parents’ approval.

She said that a drive should be started in schools to make children about the dangers of drugs to their health. Police has to curb on drugs sellers as well, she said.

Mukesh also proposed a budget allocation for sniper dogs and drugs detection machines, which he said, are unavailable with the government at present. The house will now meet on Monday.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023