The Sindh government has directed the sugar mills to sell at least 30 percent of the available stock of the commodity at Rs 40 per kilogram in compliance with the Supreme Court's orders, it is learnt. Sources told Business Recorder on Tuesday that the Agriculture Department of Sindh government had recently forwarded a communication to all sugar mills asking them to sell 30 percent of the commodity's available stock ie 16,000 metric tons at the fair price centres to be set up by the mills to facilitate poor consumers.
The fair price centres would be established within the sugar mills areas so that the poor masses could get benefit of the government's move, they added. The mills are claiming that they had provided more than 50,000 metric tons of the sugar to the wholesalers so far, they said, adding that it was the provincial government's responsibility to ensure compliance of the apex court's orders at any cost.
Further, the Cane Commissioner has also been asked to depute the Cane Inspectors to ensure establishment of the fair price centers in the sugar mills and properly check whether the mills are selling the commodity at Rs 40 per kilogram or not. The Cane Inspectors would ensure their presence in the mills and monitor the sale of the sugar following the Supreme Court's orders.
Strict action against the sugar mills if they fail to comply with the provincial government's directives, they further said. They opined that the sugar crisis in the country would go worse if the sugar mills owners did not cooperate with the government.
However the provincial authorities were trying their best to ensure sale of the daily-use commodity at the government-fixed price. Moreover, sources said that the officials of the bureau of supply and prices department of Sindh government would also inspect the sale of sugar in the wholesale markets and vowed that no leniency would be tolerated in this regard.