By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : In what has been described as a poverty driven measure, the caretaker government in Pakistan has decided to issue ration cards to poor people so that they can buy basic commodities like flour, sugar, cooking oil and pulses on subsidised prices.
The decision was taken at a meeting convened Wednesday by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro to review the performance of the Utility Stores Corp (USC), which is meant to provide clean and hygienic food and non-food items to people, especially to the poorer sections of society, at cheaper rates.
Similar ration cards introduced during martial law of Ayub Khan in the mid-60s continued till the early 1980s when they became irrelevant because of competitive market prices.
The decision was taken in view of the recent flour crisis when the price shot up to thrice the state-fixed rate. Following this, wholesalers raised the rates of other commodities like rice, pulses and cooking oil.
With the launch of the ration card scheme, the prime minister said the poor segments of society would be able to get essential food items including wheat, edible oil, rice, sugar and pulses at reasonable rates.
“This is a poverty driven measure,” the prime minister said of the scheme to be introduced from Feb 8, adding that the ration cards would be issued only to low-income people unable to buy essential commodities from the open market.
Market experts say that relief can only be provided to the needy people if the system of ration cards is implemented properly and there is a strict check on it.
“We have seen previously that these ration cards were misused by manipulators and retail sellers who used to buy these cards on cheap rates from the owners and used to sell the same commodities in the market on higher rates,” says Muhammad Usman, general secretary of Grains Market Committee in Islamabad.
How the government will implement the ration card scheme and through which outlets, remained to be seen, he pointed out.
“Earlier, we saw that it was a big tool in government’s hand to oblige their favourites by giving them ration depots,” Usman said.
The government is yet to announce whether it would give the “ration” through the already government-run utility stores or through private outlets.
There are utility stores in almost all large cities, but their presence in rural areas and smaller towns is negligible.
Economist Qaiser Bangali said that if the government wants to run this scheme for a certain period, it is bound to fail.
“In the given circumstances, we need such a scheme that may be carried on for years and that is really meant to help the poor and needy people,” he told IANS.
Bangali thinks that besides increasing the number of utility stores in the country, the government needs to take more steps to identify more outlets and to ensure regular supply of basic consumable goods.