CM directs DCs to strengthen coordination between LEA to maintain law & order
Sameer Nazir
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali has directed all the commissioners and deputy commissioners to develop close coordination with SSPs and other law enforcing agencies (LEA) to maintain law order in their respective division and districts. “This is a very difficult war we are faced with. Therefore, we have to be more vigilant and more responsive because we are committed with our nation particularly with our children to win this war.”
This he said while presiding over a meeting of all the divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners at CM House here on Thursday. Those who attended the meeting include Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Secretary Sajjad Saleem Hotiana, Principal Secretary to CM Alamuddin Bullo and Secretary Finance Sohail Rajput and others.
The Chief Minister said that his government had given top priority to law and order. “The Shikarpur bomb blast incident shows that the terrorists have penetrated into our rural areas. They are not only killing our people but trying to divide us on sectarian lines. it is quite encouraging that this incident has further strengthened unity among people of different sects,” he observed
The chief minister also said that he was receiving complaints that oil was being theft from the pipelines. These complaints are on the rise from Jamshoro, Dadu, Tando Allahayar and some other districts. “You have to stop it at any cost. It is earning bad name. I would hold a separate meeting with DIGs and SSPs on this issue and the issue of overall law and order,” he said.
Some of the deputy commissioners told the chief minister that the funds of some town committees were higher than the funds of municipal committees. The salary bills were higher than the share of most of the local bodies. On this the chief minister directed the Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah to take necessary measures to end this disparity. “I would suggest you to constitute a Provincial Finance Commission and give them provisional award till local bodies elections are held,,” he said.
The Additional Chief Secretary (Development), Mr Waseem Ahmed giving briefing to the chief minister on federally funded Rs12,500 million Pak Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Community Development Programme said that it was being launched in different sectors such as education, health, drinking water, farm to market roads, streets/pavement/culverts, embankments, sanitation, electrification/solar energy, natural gas.
The schemes would be identified by civil society/ local communities. The deputy commissioners would execute the schemes to be launched under this programmes and ACS (Dev) would accord administrative approval.
The chief minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah directed the deputy commissioners to interact with the civil society and on their recommendations identify the schemes of their urgent need and then get approved. “I would not compromise on quality of work,” he said clearly.
The chief minister also directed the deputy Commissioners to improve the performance of local bodies. “The gutters are over flowing, small roads have dilapidated. This must be improved,” he directed . On this deputy commissioner requested the chief minister to approve release of Maintenance & Repair (MR) funds for which the chief minister issued necessary directives.
Sameer Nazir
KARACHI: The Sindh Government has expressed its dissatisfaction over the offer of Federal Government to export its 4 Lac Ton Wheat stock along with subsidy of $ 45 per ton (PT) and opined that offered volume of relief was too less than the losses to be born by sindh due to import of 7 Lac Ton Wheat by Federal Government. It has also been decided to take the matter of wheat disposal in the Sindh Cabinate within a week time with refference to relief offered by Federal Government and present international wheat market.
The Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah while presiding over the meeting regarding early disposal of surplus stock of Wheat, here at CM House Karachi today, directed the 3 members ministerial committee to re-approach to the Federal Government within 3 days and apprise its authourities about the losses to be born by Sindh Government only because of their wrong decision and added that even Sindh has to bear losses more than Rs. 5 billion despite of accepting the rebate offered by The Federal Government upto $ 45 per ton for exporting 4 Lac MT. The Chief Minister Sindh said that he himself had apprised the Prime Minister of Pakistan about the Wheat issue being experienced by the Sindh Government during his last visit at Karachi, in which he (latter) agreed to direct the Federal Finance Minister to resolve this problem with consultant of Sindh Government to minimize its losses.
The Chief Minister Sindh directed the already consitituted 3 members ministerial committee comprised of Sindh Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh Minister Health Jam Mehtab Dahar and Sindh Minister for Excise & Taxation Gian Chand Israni to re-approach with Federal Government within 3 days to convince and get its offer modified with enhancement of the volume of export at least upto 6 Lac Ton and matching subsidy as offered to Punjab Government. In the meantime they (the committee) to hold meeting with the exporters to get maximum price of wheat for export. He said that there was no option other than to export the surplus wheat even on discount rates. He said that it was necessary to create the vocume for the procurement of wheat of next-crop to protect the growers interest.
The Chief Minister Sindh directed the Ministerial Committee that in both cases they submit their reports regarding revised offer of Federal Government if any and wheat export mechanism along with its price that they separately have to work out with exporters to him so that same should be submitted in the cabinate meeting most probably to be called in the next week for taking its decision approval. He said that since new corp of wheat is about to be harvested as such we can not affoard the delay in disposal of present wheat stock.
The Provincial Secretary food Saeed Awan, while briefing the meeting informed that at present Sindh Government has wheat stock upto 990,000 MT available. He said that at least 6 Lac Ton should be exported to create the reasonable space for wheat procurement from coming wheat crop.
He said that Federal Government in the ECC meeting had agreed to export 4 Lac Ton wheat of Sindh with rebate of $ 45 PT against export of 800,000 MT of Punjab at the rebate of $ 55 PT including $ 10 for transportation. He said that even after availing the rebate offered by Federal Government, we have to bear losses more than Rs. 5 billion. He said that it was because of the import of substandard wheat by Federal Government, which was available at the cheaper rate in the markets of Karachi and rest of Sindh, only 150,642 Ton wheat has been released since Oct, 2014 to last date of February 2015, consequently the stock of surplus wheat up 990,000 MT was still available with Sindh Government whereas the local consumption of the wheat upto March 31, 2015 has been estimated upto 250,000 MT.
The Sindh Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah said that besides, approaching the Federal Minister for Finance till next Monday, he and other ministers in the committee during this time also to hold meeting with exporters to set out the wheat export modalities in such away so that losses of the Sindh Government be got minimized.
The Sindh Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh Minister Health Jam Mehtab Dahar, Sindh Minister for Excise Gian Chand Israni, Chief Secretary Sindh Sajjad Saleem Hotiyana, Secretary to CM Alumdin Bullo, Secretary food Saeed Awan, Secretary finance Sohail Rajput and other officers attended the meeting.