ISLAMABAD: A Senate committee has urged the government to restore subsidy given to the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) to enable it to provide commodities of daily use to the poor on cheap rates, or else close the stores.

“The main purpose of the USC is to provide inexpensive commodities to people, particularly the poor. But the incumbent government has stopped providing subsidy to the corporation. As a result, the stores no longer benefit the poor.

‘‘Besides, quality of items sold in the stores is very low,” observed a Senate functional committee in its meeting on Wednesday. Its chairman Senator Usman Kakar presided over the meeting.

The committee gave six months to the corporation to improve its performance and warned that in case of failure it would consider whether the USC should continue to exist or not.

Mr Kakar told the meeting that the previous government provided subsidy to the USC but the present government had abolished the subsidy. He condemned the government for the ‘apathetic act’.

“Utility Stores are mainly to provide relief to the poor, but even 10 per cent of them are not located in backward areas,” he contended. “Of the 5,500 stores, 3,000 are in Punjab, which do not benefit poor people of backward areas.”

Another issue which had badly affected the USC was corruption, the committee noted and recommended measures to wipe out corruption.

Earlier, Managing Director of the USC, Gulzar Shah, told the committee that a special audit had revealed corruption of millions of rupees in the organisation. Last year, the corporation suffered a loss of Rs 1.4 billion, he said. At present, the government does not provide any subsidy to it.

Those who attended the meeting included Senators Samina Abid, Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini, Maulana Tanvirul Haq Thanvi, Mir Kabir Ahmed Mohammadshahi, Nisar Mohammad, Rozi Khan Kakar, Gayan Chand and officials of the ministry of industries and production.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.