QUETTA: The provincial government has expressed concern over the delay in procurement of wheat and directed the food department to start wheat procurement in Naseerabad division immediately.

An official source of the government told APP that the Food department had termed the delay of wheat procurement mainly due to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had imposed a condition of presenting land ownership document by the farmers for selling of wheat, which was causing constant difficulties in Balochistan.

He said that this move of NAB was an impediment in the process of procurement of wheat and the process was not possible without removing the condition of presenting the ownership document.

The provincial government had directed the Food Department to contact NAB authorities and make necessary amendments in the wheat procurement notification.

The Balochistan government has given approval to the wheat procurement policy for this year and has decided for purchasing one million wheat bags from the provincial food department.

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

The food department was also unable to establish wheat procurement centres in the wheat-harvesting areas.

It merits mention here that the food department could not take steps to draft a detailed mechanism for the procurement of wheat, its storage and sale to the flour mills.