Senate panel for restoring active role of APTMA in PCCC

23 Jan '16

2 min read

Pakistan's Senate Standing Committee on Textile and Industries has recommended the restoration of the Board of Members of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) to its old status as structured by the previous government where private sector and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) had a big role to play.

Senator Mohsin Aziz who chaired the meeting at the Parliament House on January 21 observed that the structure of the PCCC which was an autonomous body of ministry of textile, has been diluted with notification of changes in 2014 theat reduced the number of private members.The ministry and hence the government has now a dominant role to play in the board of PCCC. The notification will expire in June 2017.

At the Senate meeting, the PCCC which was constitutted as an autonomous body Pakistan Cotton Cess Act, 1923 was asked to give a detailed briefing on its role, functions, achievements and expenditures. PCCC is an institute to conduct agricultural, technological and economic research and has its headquarter in Multan. During the meeting, it was revealed that the committee has not met in the last 1 and a half year and the last meeting was held in August 2014. The committee also does not have a full time working president and Khalid Abdullah has the acting charge of the post of vice president.

Senator Mohsin Aziz and Senator Saleem Mandviwala observed that the committee does not seem to have the expertise on research as well as technical sides to address the problems of cotton yield. The committee observed if PCCC had done prior research effectively then the attack of pink bollworm and consequently 40 per cent decrease in cotton production could have been tackled. (SH)

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