MULTAN, Jan 9: Bureaucracy at the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock has reportedly been delaying issuance of a notification about the import of wheat herbicides, anticipating a reshuffle in the federal cabinet.

Sources in the Minfal said that the federal agriculture secretary had ordered on Thursday last the issuance of the long-awaited notification to allow import of three popular wheat herbicides through a free-for-all generic name (form-16) category, but his subordinate bureaucracy had put it off for the next week.

It may be added here that State Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Sikander Hayat Bosan had announced in a press conference in the federal capital on Dec 4 last that the three popular wheat herbicides in the country were being brought on the form-16 from the restricted category of import under brand names (form-1) in order to make them available in abundance and that, too, on competitive prices to the growers for the Rabi season 2003-2004.

But, the Minfal bureaucracy kept the issuance of the notification in line with the minister's announcement pending under one pretext or another. However, they mostly took refuge on the ground that the Punjab agriculture department was opposed to bringing the import of wheat herbicides on form-16.

The Punjab chief minister's adviser on agriculture, MNA Jehangir Tareen convened a meeting of the top officials of the agriculture department and the associations of the pesticides importers on Monday last in Lahore to discuss the shortage of wheat herbicides and their consequent black-marketing.

The director-general of the Minfal's Plant Protection Department, Rashid Basheer Mazari was also invited to apprise the meeting about the available stocks of herbicides in the country for the current wheat sowing season.

Sources present in the meeting told Dawn that the PPD DG minced no words in saying that if there was any shortage of the required herbicides, the Punjab agriculture department was responsible for the situation for its opposition to the state minister's announcement.

At this, sources added, the CM's adviser pledged that he himself would go to the Minfal secretariat to say that Punjab now had no objection to the move. It was learnt that he and the Punjab agriculture secretary met the Minfal authorities on Thursday last and reportedly withdrew their opposition.

But, in the meanwhile, the federal government reportedly called a meeting of the cabinet on Saturday (today). Sources said that a reshuffling of the federal cabinet had been on the cards after the changed political situation in the wake of 17th constitutional amendment and renewed agreements with coalition partners and MMA.

Sources said viewing the new political situation, some 'long-serving' bureaucrats in the Minfal had put off the issuance of notification about the import of wheat herbicides, anticipating change at the ministerial slot of the ministry, citing their pre-occupation in Karachi in the next few days.

It may be pertinent to mention here that only a few pesticides firms have almost a monopolistic control over the import and supply of the three popular wheat herbicides in the country for their being on the form-1.

Sources said that the Minfal authorities had been favouring these few firms by delaying the issuance of the notification so that they could reap the benefit of their monopolistic position at least for another season.