ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Tuesday approved to increase of the wheat procurement target for Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) from 1.40 to 1.80 MMT along with the required Cash Credit Limit for the purchase of additional quantity.
The approval would help PASCCO scale up its ongoing wheat procurement drive.
The Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb presided over a meeting of the ECC. The meeting was attended by the Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Minister for Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik, Minister for Privatization Abdul Aleem Khan, Minister for Industries & Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, and other high officials.
The ECC reviewed and approved a number of proposals from various ministries and divisions.
It approved the proposal for the import of 200,000 MTs of Urea fertilizer to meet the requirements for Kharif 2024 as proposed by the Ministry of Industries & Production. The Ministry was also asked to continuously assess the demand and supply situation of urea and suggest appropriate measures to the ECC in a timely manner, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance.
ECC also gave the go-ahead to the Ministry of Industries and Production’s request for the disbursement of salaries of PSM workers and directed the ministry to present a detailed plan for the future use of the asset along with timelines.
ECC’s Other Decisions
ECC allowed the Power Division’s request for the release of budgeted expenditures to clear the arrears of tariff differential subsidy of 70 billion rupees for Karachi Electric and 55 billion rupees for AJK. This would help ease the liquidity requirements of the Power Sector.
The committee considered a summary to authorize BISP to arrange funds from its allocated budget for financing the Special Relief Package for Daily Wage Workers on the Chaman Border.
Moreover, the ECC considered and approved proposals for Technical Supplementary Grants, including Rs.4.8 billion for the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, and Rs.5.8 billion for the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority to clear matured liabilities of the contractors.
It approved grants of Rs3.2 billion to the Finance Division as rupee cover for the WB-funded Financial Inclusion and Infrastructure Project (FIIP), Rs.162 million to the Ministry of Housing & Works for Repair and Maintenance of Public Buildings in Islamabad, and Rs.2.2 billion to the Ministry of Interior for the FATA TDP-ERP Project.
