Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment has decided to monitor the whole process of wheat procurement, starting from next month, and a comprehensive plan has been chalked out to ensure transparency—right from the provision of gunny bags to farmers to procurement and payment of wheat. Necessary instructions have also been passed to the food department in this regard.
This was informed by Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment Director General Brig (retd) Muzaffar Ali Ranjha in a monthly review meeting of regional directors. ACE Additional Director General Nadeem Sarwar, Director Technical (South), Director Technical (North), Director Legal and ACE regional directors posted at all divisions attended the meeting.
He directed all regional directors to place panaflex banners at all wheat procurement centres, intimating addresses, phone numbers and mobile contact numbers of concerned anti-corruption office and officers so that poor farmers may contact in case of non-provision of gunny bags and undue demand from officials of the food department. Strict monitoring of corrupt officials of the department would be done, and collusion of middleman and officials of food department to blackmail the poor farmer would be slashed. ACE would keep an eye on the distribution process of gunny bags before procurement campaign, and officials involved in malpractices would be nabbed immediately, told DG ACE.
The government wants to ensure payment of support price to growers and this can only be guaranteed by following a transparent process, he added. He directed regional directors to ensure quality, weight and the total payment of procured wheat to the farmers. ACE has prepared a comprehensive plan, according to which, farmers could not be victimised by the middleman and powerful quarters, he informed. All employees posted at wheat procurement centres are under strict observation from today so they should be more careful now, warned DG ACE. He directed regional directors to take prompt action on complaints of non-provision of gunny bags, procurement of substandard wheat, undue cut in price, and weight. Poor growers must raise their voices in case of undue demand and contact ACE staff for action so that the menace of corruption may be curbed, he said.
