ISLAMABAD (January 22 2004): Sindh Food Department with immediate effect has stopped wheat quota of 22 Karachi-based flour mills which, it said, were involved in selling their releases to private sector, besides selling flour (atta) at exorbitant rates in the market.

These included Pak-Junaid Flour Mills, Paramount Flour Mills, City Flour Mills, Shams Flour Mills, Abdullah Majeed Flour Mills, Masood Flour Mills, Mahboob Flour Mills, Madina Flour Mills, 3-Star Flour Mills, Bano Flour Mills, Zeshan Flour Mills, Aftab Flour Mills, System Flour Mills, Data Flour Mills, National Flour Mills, Blessing Flour Mills, Yousaf Flour Mills and Bahawalpur Flour Mills.

Sindh Food Secretary Amir Ali Perihar told Business Recorder on Wednesday by phone from Karachi that the mills, whose wheat quota has been suspended, were partially grinding wheat and selling the rest of the commodity to private sector.

According to him, quota of some of the mills was stopped after reports that they were found involved in selling flour (atta) at exorbitant rates.

Perihar said that Sindh government was following a transparent policy in issuing wheat quota to the mills and the provincial food department would act against any unit which would not toe the government line of action to ensure supply of flour (atta) to the people at fixed rates. The fixed rate for Sindh for one kg flour is Rs 11.

The culture of selling wheat by the millers to the private sector in Sindh had emerged during former Secretary Amir Ali Burg's regime, when corruption and kickback were the only criteria of issuing wheat quota.

The issue kept on flashing in the media for a long time before the government replaced Amir Ali Burg as Secretary with Amir Ali Perihar.

Amir Ali Perihar has been assigned the task by the government of cleaning the mess created by Burg in the provincial food department.

The new Secretary said that he has constituted a committee to address the grievances of genuine flour millers. It comprises Food Department Assistant Director Fida Hussain, Vice Chairman Flour Mills Association Sindh Malik Naeem and District Food Controller (DFC) Karachi East Mohemmad Yousaf Khattak.

On receiving any complaint of stopping wheat quota by the aggrieved millers, the committee would conduct physical checking of the concerned unit and investigate whether the action taken by the Food Department was justified or not.

Courtesy Business Recorder