Govt averted massive corruption by not procuring wheat: CM Maryam

KASUR: Denying any wheat crisis in Punjab, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz claimed on Thursday that her government has plugged a channel of massive corruption reported in wheat procurement every year (by not purchasing wheat).

She was addressing farmers and party workers at the inaugural ceremony of a rural health centre in Phoolnagar, Pattoki tehsil.

She claimed the face of the country would completely change provided the PML-N governments in Centre and Punjab were allowed to complete their five-year tenures.

She said the price of roti had come down to Rs15 from Rs20 for 130 million people, besides decline in the prices of onion and vegetables, adding that this would ease the people hit hard by price hike.

She said every farmer would get Rs150,000 under Kissan Card scheme and added that the government was going to launch the Rs400 billion package, biggest in the history of the province, in the coming four months.

She said the scheme would rid small farmers of getting loans at high interest rates to buy fertiliser, seed and pesticides. She said the farmers would also be given soft loans to purchase agriculture tools and machinery.

She vowed to make farmer-friendly policies that would free farmers from the middleman. She said that in times to come no one would be more prosperous than farmers.

CM Maryam said the process of repairing and constructing 590 roads had begun in the province and the people would find no broken road after her five-year term as chief minister.

She said that she was focusing on health and education in the province and vowed to modernise these sectors.

The chief minister said the healthcare system in the country would be modernised and 300 new rural health centres (RHCs) and 250 basic health units (BHUs) with latest facilities were being built in the province.

She said 200 ‘Clinics on Wheels’ were providing health facilities to people at their doorstep, adding that these facilities providing treatment to as many as 30,000 people on Wednesday last.

The chief minister expressed her annoyance at political interference in transfers and postings in police department, saying this would affect the performance of the discipline force.

She said Nawaz Sharif had given her strict instructions to facilitate and serve the people.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2024