CHAKWAL: In the backyard of district wildlife department offices at main Talagang Road in Chakwal city scores of agricultural implements bought at a hefty cost are lying rusted under the open sky for last eleven years. The plight of the implements speaks volume about the apathy and bad-governance on part of the bureaucrats towards the precious public property.

 Despite the direction of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif passed in 2013, the district administration of Chakwal could not make a decision about the utilisation of these precious implements which are lying useless since 2006. Even the newly elected chairman of district council Mohammad Tariq Awan did not move yet in this regard despite the fact that he was requested to look into the matter by the deputy director of district agriculture department two months ago.

The district agriculture department which alone could not decide about these precious implements wrote number of letters to the higher authorities requesting to take decision about the utilisation of these implements but yet in vain.    

 In 2006 the district government of Chakwal led by the then district nazim Sardar Ghulam Abbas purchased sixty-eight tractors and 314 agriculture implements under the scheme titled  “Provision of 68 Tractors with Implements to District Chakwal for provision of Services to Farmers of District Chakwal” at the cost of 55 million rupees. The implements included 68 Cultivators, 68 Front Blades, 18 Disc Harrows, 18 Fertiliser Spreaders, 27 Groundnut Planters, 34 Automated Combine Rabi Drills, 18 Rotavators, 27 Wheat Straw Choppers, 18 Chisel Ploughs and 18 ploughs called Raja Hall.

According to the scheme each tractor along with necessary implements was supposed to be given to each union council but the scheme could not be materialised as the then district admin failed to hire drivers for these tractors.

The tractors kept on rusting under the open till 2010. In the summer of 2010 they were given to flood hit districts but implements remained in Chakwal.

In October 2013 District Coordination Officer Chakwal sent a proposal to Chief Minister in which he sought the distribution of these implements to the concerned departments. The proposal was approved by the chief minister but only 181 implements were distributed to different research institutes.

The remaining 133 implements worth of millions are still rusting under the open sky. A meeting regarding these implements was also held on January 26 this year at the office of district council chairman which was presided over by district council chairman Mohammad Tariq Awan. On February 15 the deputy director agriculture sent another letter to the chairman district council in which he provided the details about these implements but no practical action has been taken yet. “The best option is that these implements may be given to the farmers of Chakwal district through balloting and with a proper price”, suggests an official.

When contacted, chairman district council Mohammad Tariq Awan claimed that a decision about the utilisation of these implements would be taken soon.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2017