Presiding over two different meetings of the Planning & Development Board and Agriculture Department, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah approved Rs7 billion for the provision of wheat and oil seeds to the growers.
“We have to encourage the growers to prepare their flooded lands for Rabi crops, therefore we have to support them,” Shah said during the meeting which was attended by CM’s Advisor Agriculture Manzoor Wassan, Minister Food & Excise Mukesh Chawla, Chairman P&D Hassan Naqvi, PSCM Fayaz Jatoi, and Secretary Agriculture Aijaz Mahesar. Wassan said that around 369,400 hectares of land are ready for wheat cultivation. He added that the growers should be given the seed of wheat and oils seeds for cultivation.
“We have to plan early and late Kharif-sowing,” Shah told the agriculture department. The CM directed Manzoor Wassan to develop a mechanism for the distribution of seeds and present him within a week for approval.
ADP: The chief minister presiding over a meeting of P& board directed Chairman Hassan Naqvi to review the development portfolio of every department and identify the ongoing schemes damaged by the floods and heavy rains. “We have to repair the existing damaged infrastructure, including roads, buildings, bridges, and irrigation system,” he said. Chairman P&D Hassan Naqvi told the chief minister that the in the ADP 2022-23 Rs79.119 billion were allocated for new schemes and Rs253.146 for the ongoing ones.
It was pointed out that the chief minister had frozen all released funds except for the Karachi-based schemes, and allocated funds for human resources payments. The CM said that no release would be made for new schemes. The chief minister directed the chairman P&D to invite the status of the schemes, including physical damages in percentage, cost impact, and recommendation of the concerned department for release of funds if the work could be continued and variation in the cost and scope of the scheme or to suspend/freeze the allocated/released funds on the damaged schemes till the revision.
The chairman P&D said that he would collect the details and would present the same to the chair within the next few days. Meetings with diplomats: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in his meeting with the Ambassador of France Nicolas Galey and Consul General in Karachi Alexis chahtahtinsky discussed the possibility of French support for water supply, RO plants technology for Karachi and cooperation between Tando Jam Agriculture University Agriculture and Agriculture university of France.
Shah said that French expertise in water supply systems and RO and desalination plant was well-known across the world. “We are working hard to meet the water requirement of the megalopolis city of Karachi by installing RO and desalination plants to convert sea water for drinking purposes,” he said. The French ambassador said that he would support the Sindh government by bringing experts from France to guide and support the provincial government to develop a workable and decent water supply system, including the installation of desalination plants.
The CM and the visiting diplomat discussed cooperation for the introduction of new agricultural technology. The French Ambassador said that their agriculture university was doing a wonderful job in agricultural research and the same was being applied in the field. The chief minister said that close cooperation between the Tando Jam Agricultural University and the Agriculture University of France may be developed. “This will help the provincial government in adopting new research trends and their applications in the field,” he said. Also, Ethiopian Ambassador Jemal Bekar called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and discussed the possibilities of mutual trade between Sindh, Pakistan, and Ethiopia. He said that their government was presently importing medicines from Karachi, which could be further enhanced in other commodities.
Comments are closed.