JI submits bill to Senate Secretariat to control price hike: 30 percent relief suggested

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Monday submitted a bill to the Senate Secretariat pertaining to control price hike, suggesting minimum 30 percent relief in the prices of essential commodities to the masses. The Bill has been submitted by three senators of JI including Professor Khurshid Ahmed, Professor Mohammad Ibrahim and Afia Zia under articles 37 (a), 38 (a), (b) and (d) of the constitution, which will be called "The Price Hike and Commodities Prices Control Bill, 2010."
Referring to article 37 (a), the bill states that it was responsibility of the State to promote, with special care, the educational and economic interests of backward classes or areas; Article 38(a) says that the State shall secure the well-being of the people, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race, by raising their standard of living, by preventing the concentration of wealth and means of production and distribution in the hands of few to the detriment of general interest and by ensuring equitable adjustment of rights between employers and employees, and landlords and tenants;
The Bill further says that under Article 38 (d), it is responsibility of the State to provide basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, housing, education and medical relief to all the citizens, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race, as are permanently or temporarily unable to earn their livelihood on account of infirmity, sickness or unemployment.
The four-page bill if passed by the Senate will be binding to provide 30 percent relief to the people in the prices by all institutions/individuals (i) commodities' manufacturer, sellers, supplier and hoarders (ii) Services (electricity, gas, water and telephone etc) provided by the government, semi-government, private institutions and corporations (iii) Petrol, diesel, kerosene oil and petroleum products' related institutions (iv) All institutions/individuals providing professional services (v) All government, semi-government and private institutions associated with real estate (vi) All government, semi-government and private institutions and corporations providing air, rail, road transport services.
The bill suggests that it will be binding on all institutions to ensure a minimum of 30 percent decrease in the prices and freeze the reduced prices at the same level for at least three years. While in case of inflation and increase in prices due to other reasons, the federal and provincial governments should ensure the provision of these items at normal prices by providing subsidy, special grants or enduring the burden through other means.
The Institutions providing services like electricity, gas, water, telephone, air, rail and road transportation will decrease 30 percent tariffs within a period of one month after enforcement of the law and will collect their bills as per decreased prices. To ensure the decrease, all the institutions providing services should curtail their administrative expenditures. The sales tax imposed on the services and other government liabilities will be withdrawn and the benefit of these will be passed on to the consumers.
The bill suggests that the Parliament should constitute a powerful committee to regulate the prices of petroleum products. In its statement of objects and reasons, the bill states that unjustifiable and unnecessary increase in the prices of essential commodities not only made impossible for the common man to buy the commodities, but also added to inflation in the country.
The victims of the unprecedented price hike, who are mostly the poor and middle class, are unable to meet the basic necessities like food and housing, particularly the salaried class has lost the purchasing power due to unprecedented price hike in the country. The bill aimed at lessening the burden of the price hike on the people and ensuring provision of essential commodities on subsidised rates.