Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Hamza Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered to further improve the supply of subsidized flour across Punjab.
While presiding over a meeting here at his office, the chief minister directed strict monitoring of wheat grinding and flour supply in the market. He stressed that every penny of Rs200 billion worth of subsidy should reach the common man, adding that exit routes of Punjab should be closely monitored to curb the smuggling of wheat and flour and police and line departments should take effective measures to curb smuggling. Hamza Shehbaz said the government was aware of the difficulties and it would soon give more relief to the people by reducing the prices of ghee and sugar. The meeting reviewed the mechanism of supply and monitoring of subsidized flour and reviewed proposals to reduce the prices of essential commodities, especially ghee and sugar.
Sardar Owais Leghari, Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal, Bilal Yaseen, Nadeem Kamran, Zeeshan Rafiq, Ramzan Siddique Bhatti, Hafiz Mian Muhammad Noman, chief secretary, IG police, secretaries of relevant departments and senior officials attended the meeting. Meanwhile, Hamza Shehbaz on Monday ordered an immediate curb on stockpiling and sale of fertilizers across the province.
He directed the administration to ensure supply of fertilizers to the farmers at controlled rates and legal action be initiated against those involved in selling fertilizers at exorbitant rates. “The farmers are my brothers and I would not allow their exploitation. The stockpiling and price-hike is a matter of concern and line departments should play their role in this regard,” concluded the CM. Meanwhile, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Julian Harneis on Monday called on Hamza Shehbaz at his office and appreciated the steps being taken for social sector development.
Speaking on this occasion, Julian Harneis appreciated the Punjab government’s vision of providing social services as durable steps that would empower women while ensuring gender equality in the society. Both would jointly counter climate changes which were a collective challenge for the whole world, he added. On the occasion, Hamza Shehbaz appreciated UN partnership for human resource development and welcomed UN bodies’ cooperation for social development in the country. He maintained that a balanced plan of action would have to be formulated to ensure durable human development which was need of the hour.
He said that out of box solutions would have to be adapted to deal with water shortage and other issues, adding that the drought like situation in Cholistan and other areas could endanger humans and wildlife. “The Punjab government’s steps to overcome water shortage in the expanse of Cholistan have started yielding positive results while climate challenges have become a global threat”, he added.
The chief minister said that Daanish schools were the best source of providing quality education to children of backward areas. Similarly, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government had adopted numerous praiseworthy steps to protect women and helped them to join the development process in its previous tenure. He said that use of quality seeds was being encouraged for better productivity in south Punjab and the targets of clean energy would be achieved through collaboration. He said that urban foresting, water reserves and zero plastic waste targets had been pinpointed and Provincial Water Act was being introduced to improve the recharge of groundwater in cities. “Joint steps would also be taken to protect and improve cultural heritage”, the CM added.
