SWABI, June 28: A leading tobacco company has stopped purchasing, white patta, tobacco from common growers and has been turning them away at the purchasing centre on the excuse that its purchase quote has been fulfilled , yet has made special purchase arrangements with influential people, in clear violation of the Pakistan Tobacco Board rules, sources said on Monday.

The company which purchases 100,000 kgs of the tobacco from growers annually has informed small growers that it cannot purchase their individual amounts, yet it has sent out company representatives to the homes of local influentials, councillors, union council nazims, tehsil and district nazims to inform them or their families that it will purchase a minimum of five bales each of the White Patta tobacco from each of them.

White Patta tobacco is widely used in the tobacco blending process for cigarettes, and the locally-chewed "naswar" tobacco, because it has a very high nicotine content.

All of the influentials were told to bring their produce to the Charbagh tobacco-purchasing centre in a special arrangement, in clear violation of the government's tobacco marketing rules which are supposed to be enforced by the Pakistan Tobacco Board, yet small growers were told to stay away.

When the leaf manager of the was contacted by phone he confirmed that "some distinguished officials" had been requested who later brought in the tobacco for purchasing.

Sources familiar with the tobacco market said such an arrangement was made to keep the influentials happy, so that they do not create problems later on. The tobacco company processes a quarter of the White Patta crop produced in Swabi district annually, while the remaining crop is bought and processed by small cigarette manufacturers.

About 6,000,000 kilograms of White Patta tobacco is produced here annually. The sources said that during the purchasing days the real growers were rarely allowed to bring WP tobacco for purchase but the union council nazims had been given a free hand.

"Two days previously, the nephew of the nazim of Swabi tehsil brought in 50 bales to the said tobacco company for purchasing under different 'parchi names'," said an official adding that while a farmer was not allowed to bring more then five bales. Only five bales can be brought in under a single 'parchi' name.

The most astonishing aspect of the prevailing situation was that the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) which ideally should implement the tobacco marketing law (MLO 487) was looking on like a spectator, while ordinary tobacco growers are either being exploited or ignored.