ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister Ghulam Murtaza Khan Jatoi announced on Thursday that under the Rs1.3 billion Ramazan Relief Package 18 food commodities and items would be sold at subsidised rates at about 6,000 outlets of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) across the country.

Briefing media personnel, the minister for industries and production said that market players increased the prices of essential commodities each year ahead of Ramazan, but the government was unable to do anything about it. “Therefore, the PML-N government decided in 1991 to provide relief to the public through the USC,” he said.

Mr Jatoi said that under the package, subsidy of Rs80 per 20kg would be given for wheat flour, Rs20 per kg for ghee, Rs10-15 per kg for gram pulses, Rs15 per kg for white gram, Rs14 per kg for gram flour, Rs50 per kg for dates, Rs56 per 950 grams (packet) for black tea, Rs16 per kg for Basmati rice, Rs17 per kg for broken rice, Rs16-41 per kg for parboil rice, Rs10-15 per kg for moong, masoor and maash (pulses) and Rs15 per litre for packed milk. Spices would be sold at 90 per cent of the prices mentioned on their packets.

The USC would sell another 1,000 items at a discount of 5-10 per cent, in collaboration with various vendors, the minister said.

He said the performance of the USC would be monitored closely and the people were being encouraged to file complaints, if needed.

Mr Jatoi said the finance ministry had releas­ed Rs1bn as subsidy and the industries ministry had constituted a monitoring team to ensure transparency in the programme.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2015

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