LAHORE, Nov 24: The Chief Minister's Sasta Atta Programme will be launched from Dec 1 in the Punjab to sell one million 10-kilogram flour bags to over 500,000 poor families by April 15.

This was stated by Food Minister Chaudhry Iqbal at a meeting of the Punjab Prices and Supplies Monitoring Committee here on Wednesday. He said the flour bags would be sold to the deserving families at the subsidized rate of Rs90 each.

The minister directed the DCOs to compile lists of deserving families in consultation with the elected representatives for the sale of flour. Special points should be set up in katchi abadis for the sale of flour. Strict action should also be taken against the traders selling the commodities at exorbitant rates.

Mr Iqbal was told that flour was easily available in the province as the mills were being provided 4,000 tons of wheat from the reserves daily. Wheat releases would be increased in case of any shortage of flour.

The meeting was attended by Punjab Agriculture Marketing Minister Rana Qasim Noon, food secretary Shahid Hasan, industries secretary Abid Javed Majeed and DCOs of several districts.