TRUE to his commitment and reputation as ‘doer’, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has fulfilled his pledge of offering relief to the people on purchase of petrol within days of his initial announcement in this regard. Chairing a review meeting on the relief package in Islamabad on Sunday, he said that low-income people will be given a subsidy of Rs50 per litre under the petroleum relief package. A comprehensive strategy would be formed with the cooperation of relevant departments for effective implementation of the subsidy programme.
The Government has done well by expanding the scope of the proposed subsidy, which would benefit the segment of the population which has badly been affected by price-hike and due to repeated upward revision in the prices of petroleum products. Originally, it was envisaged that the petrol subsidy would be given to motorcyclists and rickshaw owners but now the beneficiaries would also include those having 800cc cars and other vehicles. This would greatly improve mobility and facilitate the general public as well if the relief was passed on to the passengers by rickshaws. As a good number of motorcyclists are being used for transportation of passengers, it is hoped they would now charge less from their customers. It is also expected that along with other measures already announced and implemented by the federal and provincial governments, people would get substantial relief during the holy month of Ramadan. Under a programme, the Government has set up points for distribution of three ten kilogram bags of wheat flour to the poorest segments of the society. This would be in addition to the subsidy being offered on some essential items through the network of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC). It is appreciable that in line with the decision of the federal and Punjab governments, KP too has decided to provide free of cost wheat flour to over five million families of the province during Ramadan. Sindh and Balochistan governments too should follow the suit. No doubt, all this comes under the new concept of ‘targeted subsidy’ as the Government has removed general subsidies under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which means a majority of the population would continue to suffer because of record-breaking inflation. We hope that with the passage of time and as the economy stabilizes, the Government would also provide relief to the general public, especially fixed income groups and pensioners, who are hit hard by the price-hike.
