Governor orders probe into subsidy on fertilizer

LAHORE:Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman on Friday disposed of two separate representations of the Agriculture Department by setting aside the decision of the provincial ombudsman.

He said that the entire issue of subsidy provided to farmers on DAP fertilizer should be investigated by the chief minister's inspection team to identify those responsible for poor planning and failure to prevent corruption during the implementation of the scheme. He said that it is imperative that the matter be thrashed out and the responsibility be fixed regarding poor planning during execution of the scheme and inability to adopt preventive measures to curb corrupt practices especially keeping in view the magnitude of public exchequer involved. He directed the Secretary Agriculture Department to initiate a summary for the chief minister for seeking approval to assign the matter to Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT) for thorough investigation into the matter especially the slackness committed by the agency viz a viz the responsible, determination of genuine claims payable to the dealers and recommendation for the administrative departments to avoid such instances in future. He also stressed taking effective steps to improve the subsidy system in future.

Besides, Punjab Assembly members from different districts, including Pir Rafi-ud-Din Shah Bukhari, Mehwish Sultana, Bilal Farooq Tarar, Zahid Akram, former minister Chaudhry Shaukat Dawood and President PMLN Hafizabad Chaudhry Muhammad Bakhsh Tarar called on governor here at Governor’s House.

During the meeting, important issues, including the political and economic situation of the country was discussed. Talking on this occasion, Balighur Rehman said that economic development in the country was related to political stability, the politics of chaos is not in the country’s interest. He said that everyone should play a positive role in the development of the country.

The governor said that the PMLN had always taken steps for the public welfare in every field, including education and health. He said that the federal government had given relief to the farmers in various sectors, including the agricultural package despite the difficult conditions.

He said that efforts were being made to provide relief to the people from inflation and other problems. He asked the MPAs to continue public service as per the vision of the party. He further said that they should develop close liaison with the people and solve their problems.