The Lahore High Court (LHC) has called for a report from the federal and provincial agricultural ministries and Punjab home department in a petition challenging fixation of wheat prices at Rs 625 per 40 kg.
Justice Syed Asghar Haider of the LHC has directed the respondents to submit their reports within two weeks and re-listed the case for May 25.
Petitioner Muhammad Farooq Bajwa submitted that he was a grower of wheat. He said that March 29 order of the Prime Minister to fix the wheat prices to Rs 625 per 40 kg was illegal. He submitted that farmers grow wheat on their own without any co-operation from the federal or provincial government, which had fixed wheat price.
He said farmers had to purchase diesel, fertilisers, pesticides and other necessary items for wheat crops on government's prescribed rates. He said the farmers were not consulted before fixing prices of wheat or diesel, fertilisers and pesticides. He said prices of diesel, fertilisers and pesticides were fixed according to their rates in international market but before fixing the price of wheat, its international rates were totally ignored.
He said this year average yield of wheat was low as compared to previous years. About 20 maunds per hectare was average yield this year because of unfavourable climate and unavailability of irrigation water in most areas of the province, he maintained.
He said the government imported wheat from abroad in double rates but was paying low prices to its farmers by ignoring expenses of wheat crop.
He said the federal government had directed the Punjab government to procure wheat at these rates forcefully. He said the provincial government was using coercive measures to procure the wheat from the farmers by barring floor mills and local dealers from purchasing wheat. He said this was against the fundamental rights of free sale and purchase. He therefore prayed the court to restrain the respondents from forcing the farmers for selling the wheat on the fixed prices by using coercive measures.