KARACHI: Flour millers have opposed a plan by the Sindh government to subsidise flour in Ramazan, describing any such package as a “total wastage of public funds”.
In a press conference on Wednesday, leaders of the Sindh chapter of Pakistan Flour Mills Association said the subsidy scheme would lead to corruption.
The provincial government has proposed a subsidy of around Rs2 billion, or Rs10 per kg, on flour for Ramazan.
Chaudhry Nasir Abdullah, provincial chairman of the association, feared that the amount given in the subsidy would be misused by government officials, wholesalers and millers as has been the case in the past, and the general public would not get the desired benefit.
“There is no reason to announce such a package at present when the mills are already selling flour at Rs5 a kilogram lower than the official rate of Rs39 per kg,” he said. “Besides, consumption of flour decreases by 30pc in Ramazan as people opt for other alternatives,” he added.
He suggested that the Sindh government should instead use the fund to adjust wheat prices for the whole year so that the general public get a relief of Rs1.50 on a kilogram of flour.
The government may also divert the amount to Benazir Income Support Programme, he said.
Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2017
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