Sugar Punjab government Mafia 3 How billion subsidy was approved?

Lahore (94 news) After the initial report of the sugar and flour scandal came out, Prime Minister Imran Khan made some changes in important positions, while some potential responsible persons also separated themselves, now its final report. 25 April is expected after which further steps are expected, but how the subsidy was approved by the Punjab government,

Senior journalist Ansar Abbasi has written in Daily Jang that "the matter of giving subsidy of three billion rupees to the powerful sugar industry of the country was already decided and the Punjab government just acted as a rubber stamp in the matter of approving it." Documentary evidence and background links reveal some serious irregularities and some unbelievable facts are revealed in the approval of Rs.3 billion subsidy by Usman Buzdar's government. The then Secretary Punjab Finance Department had opposed giving subsidy in three summaries and these summaries were under consideration in the Chief Secretary Office, at that time Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar called a provincial cabinet meeting in Bahawalpur on 29 December 2018 for the first time. The agenda of the cabinet meeting was heavy but it did not include the issue of sugar subsidy.

During the meeting, the food minister surprisingly put the issue of Rs.3 billion subsidy for sugar mill owners on the agenda. No summary was distributed to the cabinet members before the meeting nor was this summary presented in the meeting. This was also very surprising for the Punjab Finance Secretary, who was also present in the meeting. The Finance Secretary had submitted three summaries in which the subsidy was opposed, but when these three summaries were pending in the Chief Secretary's office, surprisingly, the Secretary Food ignored everything and presented the matter before the Provincial Cabinet, out of the agenda. Generally, all such summaries are submitted to the Cabinet only after the approval of the Chief Minister. But in this case, these three summaries of the finance department did not reach the chief minister's desk, they remained pending in the chief secretary's office, and meanwhile the food department directly contacted the cabinet to approve the sugar subsidy.

By doing so, he ensured that the matter should come as a surprise even to the cabinet ministers. However, the main points of the cabinet meeting (Minutes) It appears that the Food Department and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar were of the same opinion and had already decided that the subsidy would be given. At the time when the three summaries of the Finance Secretary were under consideration in the Chief Secretary's office, Usman Buzdar called a meeting on December 6, 2018 and decided to give a subsidy of three billion rupees. The cabinet meeting was only a formality to seal the decision that had already been made. Interestingly, the important points of the meeting held on December 29, 2018 also expose this alleged scheme. According to key points, Secretary Food briefed the Cabinet regarding the subsidy on export of sugar.

The meeting was chaired by the Chief Minister in which a verbal briefing was given regarding the decision taken by the ECC on 4 December 2018. It has been decided that the rate of freight support/export is calculated as the share of subsidy (5.35Rs. per Kg) which will be maintained by Punjab Government during 2017-18. It was also decided that the total volume of export freight/subsidy will not exceed three billion rupees. The meeting minutes show that Secretary Food held a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Sugar (Which was also presided over by Buzdar) The meeting was held on December 17, in which it was said that the committee considered the recommendation of the Food Department to give a subsidy of Rs.3 billion and decided that the export limit from Punjab province would be 0.572 million metric tonnes (Three billion rupees) should be limited to

While the Minister of Food and the Secretary Food were giving this briefing to the Cabinet so that the decision to give the subsidy could proceed calmly, the surprised and worried Secretary Finance Punjab quietly told the Chief Secretary. (who were present in the meeting) contacted and insisted that he be allowed to present the same views he has presented in his three summaries here at the meeting. The Chief Secretary allowed them to present their views. The Finance Secretary told the provincial cabinet meeting that the issue of excess production of sugar is of a national nature and the federal government will share its share in the subsidy with the provinces. 50-50 determined on the basis of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) The latest meeting will have a negative impact on Punjab's finances as there will be no share from the federal side and it will set a precedent forever. He further stated that subsidy is considered an economic malpractice and should not be encouraged at least when the impact on the ultimate beneficiaries - the farmers - is not clear.

He advised the provincial cabinet to order the formulation of a policy so that the subsidy can be phased out as it is not a high consumption item like wheat. The Chief Minister ignored the Finance Secretary's opinion and decided to approve the proposal of the Food Department which he had already approved twice in the Cabinet meeting. Other members of the cabinet did not get a chance to read the proposals during the meeting. Even three summaries of the Finance Department were not allowed to reach the cabinet members. As a result, the Cabinet only acted as a rubber stamp and decided what had already been done. Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar was in such a hurry that he relied on word of mouth without waiting for the key points of the ECC's decision on sugar subsidy and convened its meeting two days after the ECC's Islamabad meeting on the sugar issue. Although the government files on the sugar subsidy issue suggest strange and disturbing manipulations, people in key positions in the Punjab bureaucracy already knew who was forcing Usman Buzdar to take this decision.

Last Tuesday, in what was cited as a criminal act of neglect of inquiry in the FIA ​​sugar scandal case, it was reported that the then federal commerce secretary Younis Dhaga had suggested based on calculations that there was no need to subsidize sugar exports. Based on the same summary, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) And at the same time, the federal cabinet approved the recommendation of the secretary of commerce, but the Punjab government turned a blind eye and gave a subsidy of three billion rupees. In the light of the proposal of Secretary Commerce, it is serious negligence on the part of Punjab Government to give subsidy to sugar mill owners. The Punjab government gave a subsidy of three billion rupees at the rate of 5 rupees 35 paisa per kg to export sugar. The Punjab government was subsidizing the export of sugar at a time when its price was increasing in the local markets of the country.