The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly (NA), which met with PTI MNA Junaid Akbar Khan in the chair on Tuesday, was told that some people pocketed Rs287 billion through the sale of sugar at exorbitant prices, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
PAC Chairman Junaid Akbar Khan, on the occasion, asked why only 42 people in the country owned 80 sugar mills and why licenses were not issued to others.
Some of the MNAs made a startling disclosure that sugar in their constituencies was being sold at prices exceeding Rs200 per kilo.
PTI’s Omar Ayub Khan asked about the names of people who owned sugar mills.
The National Food Security secretary told the committee that yesterday the average price of sugar was Rs173 per kilo.
But the committee members refused to believe the figures given by the secretary.
Secretary Ministry of Industry and Production said that every province had its own regulatory laws, and these were the provincial governments, which fixed the prices of sugar.
He further said that an advisory board had been constituted to monitor sugar prices.
He went on to say that the sugar crushing season started on November 15 and lasted until March 15.
The secretary informed that in the last 10 years, the ECC allowed the export of 5.09 million tonnes of sugar, while 3.927 million tonnes were exported.
He also informed that the country had the stock that would last until November. “The government is even contemplating importing the sugar.”
Audit officials told the NA body that a supplementary grant of Rs1.950 billion was given to the PID for running a campaign on floods.
However, they added, it later emerged that only Rs150 billion were spent for the declared purpose.
Disagreeing with the audit officials, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting secretary said that the amount had not been sought for the flood campaign only.
MNA Shazia Murree said that PTI employees had not been paid salaries for months. “This needs to be investigated.”
Reporter: Usman Khan