QUETTA: The Balochis­tan cabinet on Tuesday approved the wheat procurement policy for this year and decided to purchase one million wheat bags from the provincial food department.

The provincial finance department will provide interest-free loan to the food department for the purchase of wheat and it would return the loan amount to the finance department after the selling of wheat.

The cabinet headed by Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani also directed the food department to establish wheat procurement centres in the wheat-growing areas during the first week of April which he said will just be in time for the purchasing of required wheat from Nasirabad division.

The food department was further directed to prepare a comprehensive mechanism for wheat procurement, its storage and sale to the flour mills within the next 10 days.

Regarding minerals, the cabinet directed the Department of Minerals to obtain royalty set for various minerals and approved auctioning of contract and directed to decrease the period of the contract from one year to six months on an experimental basis.

The cabinet approved several amendments in the mineral sector such as the issuance of mining licence and renewal of fees and an increase in royalty rates of the lease.

The cabinet also approved to increase Chief Minister’s Special Support Programme funds and award honorarium to the employees of District Judiciary from Grade 1 to 18.

The cabinet approved the appointment of the chief officer of the municipality from grade 16 to grade 17 while the cabinet also approved the establishment of Balochistan Parks and Horticulture Authority.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2020