ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has directed all the provincial governments to ensure provision of sugar at governmentÂ’s fixed rates and also constituted a committee headed by Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin to work out a strategy to overcome the sugar crisis in the country.
Chairing the Federal Cabinet meeting here at Prime Minister Secretariat, in which the chief ministers from Sindh, Punjab and NWFP were in attendance on the special invitation of PM, Premier Gilani constituted the committee to come up with a strategy to overcome the sugar crisis in the country in consultation with all the four provincial governments within a 10-day period.
He further directed the governments of NWFP and Sindh to make sure that the sugar millsÂ’ owners in their respective provinces would make payment of all outstanding dues to the farmers who had supplied sugarcane to the millers.
Later, during the briefing on the cabinet meeting decisions by Federal Minister for Education Mir Hazar Khan Bejarani, the Federal Information Secretary responding to a question regarding the sugar crisis stated that the cabinet had decided to set up a committee to tackle the ongoing sugar crisis.
He further said that besides taking into confidence all the provinces on the subject, the committee would also take into account the suggestions of the sugarcane growers.
Responding to a question, he said that certainly an incentive package would also be announced for sugarcane growers and government would also make sure that the sugar millsÂ’ owners would pay all the outstanding dues of cane growers.