KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet on Thursday approved fixing of sugar cane procurement price for the current season at Rs240 per 40kg. It also gave approval for the appointment of 1,500 subject specialists and the provincial government’s waste-to-energy policy.

The meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, was attended by the ministers concerned, advisers and special assistants to the CM, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah and other officials and officers.

Adviser on agriculture Manzoor Wassan informed the meeting that the sugar cane procurement price for 2018-19 season was fixed at Rs182/40kg, for 2019-20 season Rs192/40kg and for 2020-19 season at Rs202/40kg. In the three seasons, the cane crushing was started on Nov 30, he added.

He said that under the law, sugar millers had to pay quality premium at the end of the crushing season.

Wheat support price fixed at Rs2,000/40kg, approval given for recruitment of 1,500 college teachers

The cabinet considered different factors, including consultation with cane growers and sugar millers, and approved start of the cane crushing this season by Nov 15.

Besides fixing the cane procurement price at Rs250/40kg, the cabinet also fixed the premium at Rs.0.50/40kg. The reason to increase the procurement price was given as a rise in the prices of agricultural inputs.

Wheat support price

Mr Wassan also informed the cabinet that the wheat price for the seasons 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 was fixed at Rs1,300, Rs1,400 and Rs1,800 per 40 kg, respectively, by the federal government. But the Sindh government, he added, in order to encourage growers recommended fixing of the price in Sindh at Rs2,000/40kg.

The chief minister directed the minister to consult other provinces in this regard and then bring the proposal to the cabinet.

Recruitment of subject specialist

Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah informed the cabinet that the college education department was facing two problems -- unavailability of teaching staff in particular subjects and a general shortage of teachers in rural areas.

He gave statistics regarding sanctioned posts of lecturers and availability of teachers in grades BS-17 to BS-20 and called for filling the vacant seats.

The cabinet, after detailed discussion, approved recruitment of 1,500 college, district-specific, non-transferable subject specialists and other teachers against a monthly stipend of Rs60,000 for seven months under the College Teaching Interns Programme 2021.

Waste-to-energy policy

Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh presented in the cabinet a draft of the “Waste-to-energy policy” and pointed out that Karachi generated around 10,000-11,000 tonnes of waste per day followed by Hyderabad (1,000-1,100 tonnes), Sukkur (400 tonnes) and Larkana (325 tonnes).

“Waste has the potential of generating energy such as electricity and RDF (refuse derived fuel,” he said, adding that in the first phase the proposed policy would be implemented in Karachi and in the second phase it would be extended to the whole of the province.

He explained that municipal solid waste would be provided to ‘waste-to-energy projects’ to be located at or within the proximity of designated landfill sites.

Mr Shaikh also informed the cabinet that the K-Electric had sought a 40-acre piece of land in Deh Lal Bakhar in district Keamari for the establishment of a grid station. The cabinet constituted a committee comprising the ministers (Imtiaz Shaikh), Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Saeed Ghani to examine the request and submit their report.

Mohen Jo Daro spelling

Culture Minister Syed Sardar Shah gave the cabinet meeting a historical background of Mohen Jo Daro and called for correcting its spelling.

He said that in 1942, discovery of the ancient civilisation was officially reported in the annual report of the Archaeological Survey of India by Sir John Marshall, who had spelled its name as “Mohen Jo Daro” which was being wrongly spelled as “Mohen Jo Daro”.

The chief minister constituted a committee comprising Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Syed Sardar Shah, Ismail Rahu and Murtaza Wahab to consult experts and then bring the matter to the cabinet.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2021