The Punjab Chief Ministers' cheap 'atta' scheme is at stake following the complaints lodged by a number of local government representatives including tehsil Nazim against the purity of 'atta' bags and the cheap scheme has been facing serious crisis in the district, reliable sources said.
The atta bags have proved low-quality and substandard even a tehsil Nazim has surrendered from his quota coupons and returned back to the district administration due to low quality and adulteration, they said.
However, the district officials in their close door meeting held flourmills responsible for supplying adulterated and low quality 'atta' bags which damaged the entire public scheme, said sources.
Sources said the officials also recommended for suspension of wheat quota to flourmills for committing dishonesty, said insiders.
Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi announced that cheap flour bag schemes for the poor and needy people but the bureaucracy and the administration foiled his pro-people bid.
Punjab Minister for Agriculture Marketing Rana Qasim Noon was appointed as in-charge of the scheme for Multan district and the district administration scheduled for distribution of 15,898 bags in Multan district on monthly basis. According to scheduled program each family was to be distributed two bags of 20 kilogram till the completion of scheme in the next four months from January to April.
The criteria for deserve person was defined as below Rs 4000 income with family members of 5 to 6.
The district revenue officials said all the lists were finalised in consultation with legislators, Nazims and Zakat committees. About 4000 bags were planned to distribute in tehsil Multan, 1898 in tehsil Shujaabad, 2000 bags for tehsil Jalalpur Pirwala and 8000 in tehsil city and 29 sale points were established in the district.
Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi ordered Rs 38 subsidy on each 20-kilogram flour bag.
Sources said the district officials released 31 coupons to tehsil, Union Nazims and selected legislators but majority of them complained about low quality of flour bags.
Multan tehsil Sadar tehsil Nazim Shaukat Hayat Bosan has returned about 4000 cheap flour coupons following lodging complaints by his area people about low quality bags.
When contacted opposition legislators for consulting them in distribution of cheap atta bags, their respective party's office bearers said neither they were consulted nor lists of needy people from their constituencies could be sought. The PML-Q legislators or local government representatives would be the sole beneficiaries of chief ministers' cheap atta scheme, they said.
The PML-N district co-ordinator Bilal Butt said the PML-Q could bag only one MNA seat of Malik Sikandar Hayat Bosan from NA-151 and lose five MNAs seats in the district.
Later, Syed Assad Murtaza Gillani of PPPP was elected from NA-152 and PML-N backed Dewan Jafar Bokhari from NA-153 changed their loyalties and joined PML-Q was consulted in preparing lists.
PPP district general secretary Khalid Hanif Lodhi said none of opposition legislator including MNAs Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi from NA-148, Malik
Liaquat Dogar from NA-149 were not consulted at any level in finalising lists and deprived people of their respective from right of cheap 'atta' bags.
However, Multan DCO Muhammad Ijaz Chaudhry contradicted about adulteration or low quality of 'atta' bags and said the scheme was continuing according to prescribed standards.
He said that Multan Sadar tehsil Nazim Shukat Hayat Bosan surrendered from his coupon quota due to excess stock of wheat with the people of his area.
He further said the lists of deserving persons were finalised following consultation with legislators.
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