Daily Times

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would start procurement of three lac metric tons (MT) of wheat from May 7 at a cost of about 29 billion rupees, said Minister for Food Zahir Shah Toru.

In a statement issued here, he said that wheat would be purchased from local farmers at the rate of Rs 3900 hundred per 40 kg sack.

He said committees have been formed at the district level to check the quality and quantity of wheat

The committee would consist of the district food controller, assistant food controller, district administration, agriculture, revenue department, representative members of the flour mills association, and officials of NAB and anti-corruption department as observers.

The food department had set up 22 procurement centres in Peshawar, DI Khan, Bannu, Malakand, Dargai, Dir Lower, Hangu, Lakki Marwat, Mardan, Haripur, Mansehra, Kark, Battagram, Kohat, Abbottabad, Nowshera, Charsadda, Chitral Upper, Chitral Lower, Buner, Swabi, Azakhel, and Swat for procurement of wheat. The Minister said that CCTV cameras have been installed at all the centers to monitor the purchase process, adding that purchases would be made from farmers on a first come first serve basis.

The provincial government has introduced a mobile application for procurement to enable online registration of all records on the spot, said the Food Minister.

Toru said that farmers would be paid through the Bank of Khyber within 24 hours.

He said that a complaint cell has also been set up with telephone number 091-9225379 for any complaint related to wheat procurement. He said all possible measures have been taken to ensure transparency in wheat procurement and to prevent any kind of embezzlement. Zahir Shah Toru warned that exemplary punishment would be given to corrupt elements.