July 31, 2006	Monday	Rajab 4, 1427

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LAHORE, July 30: The Punjab government will launch the “sasta ration” scheme for a year from Aug 1 at a cost of Rs2.17 billion.

Under the scheme, the government will provide a 10kg flour bag for Rs100 to each of one million poor families through coupons. Each family will also get 2kg each of two pulses (masoor and chana) at Rs10 per kg cheaper than the market rate.

Irfan Elahi, the Director Food and Secretary of the Steering Committee for the implementation of the scheme, said that district price control committees would set the rates and the poor would get these pulses at Rs10 per kg cheaper than those rates.

He said that DCOs had already identified deserving families in their areas and would provide them coupons.

About the distribution plan, he said that DCOs had been given two choices for distribution. Either they would depute union council staff to get these items from market, pack them and sell to people on designated points or they could identify shops, which would act as distribution points. DCOs would make the decision according to their local conditions.

He said that they had been provided with funds that packaging would cost — Rs5.40 per package or Rs1.80 per pack.

The DCOs staff would return coupons every month and get the subsidy money according to those coupons. He claimed that every possible care had been taken to avoid any rigging in the distribution system.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday said that the abundant wheat stock was available in the province and flourmills could get as much wheat as they need under the “liberal release policy.”

The chief minister said the government was providing a subsidy of over Rs4 billion at the rate of Rs51 per maund regarding purchase of wheat from farmers and its provision to flourmills to ensure “sasta atta” to urban population and fair price to farmers.

Presiding over a high-level meeting regarding the wheat policy and provision of “sasta atta” at Chief Minister’s Secretariat here on Sunday, he said Rs2 billion had also been provided as a subsidy for the provision of pulses, sugar and flour at cheaper rates.

Food Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal, Secretary (Food) Ahsan Raja, Director (Food) Irfan Elahi and other senior officers were also present in the meeting.

The chief minister said the government had fixed a target of two million tons for the wheat purchase, but procured 2.56 million tons. He said the procurement of every grain of wheat and proper payment to growers had left a positive impact on the agri economy.

He said that due to people-friendly policies of the government, relief would be provided to the people of all walks of life. The government had given Rs6 billion as subsidy for the purchase of wheat and a package for the provision of daily use items to the people which would help reduce poverty in the province.

A programme, he said, was being initiated to provide pulses, sugar and atta on concessional rates to masses under which pulses and sugar would be provided to them at Rs10 less than the market rate.

He said the sasta atta was already being provided to masses and now this programme would be expanded. All DCOs in the province would be responsible for the implementation of the “sasta rashan package”. He said that thousands of families would benefit from the programme of provision of edibles at cheaper rates.

Provincial Food Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal said that the scheme would provide much relief to the poor people.

He said foolproof arrangements had been made for ensuring transparency in the process of distribution of “sasta rashan” on the instructions of the Punjab chief minister.