Daily Times

DADU: Wheat farmers pleaded with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman and Chief Justice of Pakistan to take legal action against alleged culprits who were providing gunny bags only to traders and influential people while ignoring small growers.

They lodged a complaint that wheat procurement season was started but food department officials with assistance of traders and big-wigs of Pakistan Peoples’ Party had fixed the rates to sell gunny bags by violating policy of the government that supports small growers. The government policy instructs to purchase wheat from small growers on rates prescribed by the government.

They criticised traders who had arrived at Dadu and Jamshoro districts to purchase wheat from small growers on cheaper rates than prescribed by the government.

The grower from Pipri Union Council of Dadu Sikandar Bhand said that District Food Controller (DFC) did not address the concerns of small growers while they had visited his office.

Moreover, he said that DFC was selling gunny bags to traders at the rate of 200 Rps per bag.

Dr Aftab Ahmed Bhand, wheat grower of Dadu, said that he had cultivated 1000 acres of land but received not even a single gunny bag from DFC. He said that he was compelled to sell 100 kg bag of wheat at 2700 rupees to traders of Karachi and Hyderabad

Moreover, he said that 5 million bags were available at Johi, KN Shah and other fields of Dadu but food department only supplied gunny bags to influential land lords who had relationships with ministers of PPP.

The wheat grower Abdullah Jamali complained that food department had sold gunny bags to traders at 200 rupees per bag whereas traders were purchasing wheat from small growers at 2500 rupees per bag weighing 100 kg.

The wheat grower Ghulam Qadir said that the corruption is evident in food department as food inspector was appointed by politicians. Johi tehsil of Dadu district was the best producer of wheat in terms of its quality but food department had neglected small growers.

The grower Ghulam Nabi Barejo said that Sindh government fixed the price of wheat weighing 100kg at 3250 rupees. He said that there was no check and balance by provincial ministry of food department on distribution of gunny bags.

Hussain Bux pointed out that the role of Deputy Commissioner had been in-effective in Jamshoro. DC and revenue officers were supporting PPP affiliated growers to receive gunny bags from food officials.

Whereas Dadu DFC Wishan Das said that 1.2 million bags was allocated to purchase wheat from growers. He said that gunny bags were being distributed accordingly with the policy of the government through 36 wheat procurement centers.

Besides, many other growers demanded an inquiry by NAB about alleged corruption in the food department. The situation of food department had not been different in the Jamshoro district of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

Published in Daily Times, April 1^st 2018.