Sindh Cabinet fixes sugar cane prices, approves various other proposals

• The Sindh Agriculture Department requested the cabinet to fix sugarcane prices for year 2019-20.
• Minister Agriculture Ismail Rahu said that the sugar price in the market had increased from Rs 60 per kg.

KARACHI: The Provincial Cabinet of Sindh, which met here on Monday in the chairmanship of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took various decisions including fixation of sugar cane prices, lifting of ban on students unions and others.

The meeting was attended by Sindh Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, provincial ministers, advisors and concerned officers, said a statement.

The Sindh Agriculture Department requested the cabinet to fix sugarcane prices for year 2019-20.

Minister Agriculture Ismail Rahu said that the sugar price in the market had increased from Rs 60 per kg.

The cabinet after thorough deliberations fixed the minimum price of sugarcane at Rs 192 per 40 kg for crop season 2019-20.

The cabinet also approved quality premium at the rate of Rs 0.50 (fifty paisa) for 40 kg to be paid by sugar mills to cane growers at the end of crushing season. The crushing season for year 2019-20 would start from November 30.

The Agriculture Department told the cabinet that Pakistan Sugar Mill Association (PSMA) had approached the federal government for allowing them to export surplus sugar stocks and demanded grant of cash freight support of Rs 20 per kg due to low prices in the international market. The federal government allowed export of four million tons of sugar.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) allocated a quota of 1.700 million tons and cash freight support of Rs. 10.7 per kg on export of sugar was granted to be equally shared by the federal and the provincial governments.

The provincial cabinet had approved the proposal and now the Sindh government has to pay Rs 3.393 billion as its share for payment to SBP against the claim of cash freight support. The cabinet approved the release of funds subject to the clearance by the NAB which has initiated an inquiry into the matter.

During the meeting the provincial Home department presented draft rules for Sindh Prison & Correction Services Act 2019. Under the proposed rules, confining of all prisoners in safe and secure custody whilst ensuring their fundamental rights as enshrined in the constitution.

The rules calls for assisting the welfare and rehabilitation of prisoners and their reintegration into the society as law abiding citizens through provisions of reformation programmes. All sentenced prisoners must participate in reformation process.

An environment would be created in which prisoners would be able to live with dignity and develop the ability to lead a socially responsible and crime-free life and such opportunities would be made available to all prisoners.

The rules call for early release of elderly prisoners, male 65 and female 60, who completed half portion of substantial imprisonment, at par with international standards.

The Cabinet on the occasion was told by the University & Board department that Center of Excellence of Art & Design and Heritage Jamshoro was working under the control of Mehran University which needed to be upgraded as a university.

The center has its own building and necessary staff therefore, it may be created as Shaheed Allah Buksh Soomro University of Art, Design and heritage Jamshoro Act, 2019. The cabinet approved the proposal and referred it to the assembly.

The Sindh Energy Department told the Cabinet that the Sindh government has initiated power project for generation of 1320 MW from Thar Coal Field Block-I and responsibility of provision of clean water has been streamed lined by the government. The construction of canal from Makhi Farash to Nabir Sar was in progress. The phase-II Nabisar to Vajhiar through pipeline has to be started. The distance was around 65 kilometers.

The Cabinet was told that a Kuwaiti company had offered to invest $130 million to lay the line within a year so that Chinese company could complete its project in time. The Cabinet, in principle allowed the provincial Energy Department to sign the agreement on the condition the Kuwaiti company, a government company, would complete the project within a year.

The Energy Minister said that by the end of this week he would meet the management of the Kuwaiti company and get the assurance.

The Energy department requested the Cabinet to approve the exemption of collection of Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) and Workers Profit Participation Fund (WPPF) from Thar Coal and power projects as Thar had been declared as Special Economic Zone.

Minister Labour Saeed Ghani opposed the proposal saying that the funds meant for workers and laborers could not be exempted.

The Chief Minister and other cabinet members said that the provincial government was in agreement with the investors in Tharparkar that they would be given incentives, therefore Thar being the special economic zone has the status of certain exemptions. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah constituted a committee comprising Minister Labour Saeed Ghani, Minister Energy Imtiaz Shaikh and Advisor law to sit together and resolve the matter and bring it back in the next cabinet.

Sindh Minister for Forest Syed Nasir Shah presented two different

items saying that SSGCL needed 15 acres of Reserve Forest Land tor carrying out drilling activity in order to explore oil and gas in the area of Larkana for a period of 15 years.

He requested the cabinet to issue NOC for land for SSGC for well Jatoi-01. He also put up another request of SSGCL to allow it to lay a gas pipeline from Ayesha Gas Field to MV Golarchi, eight-kilometer forest land.

The Chief Minister directed Secretary Forest to quote the law under which he was seeking the approval. Since the laws he was quoting were not relevant, therefore the Chief Minister directed forest department to explore the relevant law under which forest land could be given for commercial purposes and bring the matter in the next cabinet meeting.