Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Standing Committee on Energy met under the Chairmanship of MNA Mian Tariq Mehmood on Tuesday.

The Committee expressed its satisfaction on the implementation status of the recommendations of the Committee regarding Power Division, M/o Energy made in its previous meetings. The Committee directed the power distribution companies to complete the ongoing electrification schemes being carried out under the PM’s sustainable development goals schemes within the stipulated timelines.

The Committee asked the Power Division to ensure supply of required material to all the power distribution companies, in this regard.

The committee appreciated the mechanism devised by the companies for redressal of overbilling complaints of the domestic consumers. The Committee also asked the Power Division to devise a policy regarding shifting of high tension power lines from the residential areas throughout the country.

The Committee deferred the agenda regarding Petroleum Division for its next meeting. The meeting was attended by Mr. Abid Sher Ali, Minister of State (Petroleum Division) MNAs; Syed Muhammad Saqlain Shah Bukhari, Rana Muhammad Ishaq Khan, Mr. Rasheed Ahmad Khan, Mr. Ghulam Rabbani Khar, Mr. Imran Khattak, Mr. Abdul Waseem, Mr. Sajid Ahmed, Mr. Akram Khan Durrani, Secretaries, Power Division and Petroleum Division and Senior Officers of the concerned departments.

Meanwhile, the 41st meeting of the Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research was held on Tuesday in Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Supplies Corporation (PASSCO) Head Office, Lahore under the chairmanship of Malik Shakir Bashir Awan.

The Committee was briefed about the step taken by the PASSCO and Department of Plant Protection (DPP) on implementation status of Committee recommendations during its previous meetings.

Managing Director (MD), PASSCO briefed the Committee about the Current PASSCO stock situation of wheat, Domestic Wheat releases and export prospects and steps being taken for procurement of wheat during 2018. He informed that annual requirement and liabilities of PASSCO with regards to availability of wheat stock ranges between 1.4 and 1.6 million metric tonnes.

He added that Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has allowed PASSCO to dispose of 500,000 million tonnes and also concurrently allowed export of 2.0 million million tonnes of Punjab and Sindh’s surplus wheat. He said that the decision has seriously hampered / impeded local sale of PASSCO wheat and if the entire stock of 500,000 million tonne is not lifted, PASSCO will be constrained to curtail its wheat procurement target for the year 2018. He further informed that to address complaints and to make the issue of bardana more transparent PASSCO plans to introduce electronic balloting system as a pilot project first, in selected zones which will then be replicated all over its designated procurement areas, if found beneficial and acceptable to the growers.

Secretary Food Department, Punjab and Secretary Food Department, Sindh also shortly briefed the Committee regarding stock situation of wheat and steps being taken for procurement of wheat.

Chaudhary Nazeer Ahmad, Choudhary Iftikhar Nazir, Tahir Iqbal Ch, Sayed Essa Nori, Syed Iftikhar-ul-Hassan, Pir Muhammad Aslam Bodla, Shahnaz Saleem, Khalida Mansoor, Dr Fouzia Hameed and Parveen Masood Bhatti attended the meeting. The meeting was also attended by senior officers of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research and PASSCO.

Published in Daily Times, January 10^th 2018.