PA passes law to set up food authority

Authority will ensure consumers are provided with healthy food items; punish those preparing and selling adulterated products

The Sindh Assembly passed into law the Sindh Food Authority Bill, 2016 on Wednesday paving way for setting up the first of its kind body in the province that would ensure the provision of pure and healthy food items to consumers and also penalise those involved in the preparation and sale of adulterated edible products.

The provincial assembly adopted the bill in the light of a report of its standing committee on food.

The bill was presented in the House by parliamentary affairs and food minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro.

The provincial legislature passed the bill into law after incorporating some amendments in its draft proposed by Syed Sardar Ahmed, the parliamentary party leader of the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement in the House.

The bill envisages a sentence of six months’ imprisonment or a Rs1 million fine or both for those involved in preparation, storage, import/export, or selling of adulterated food items, which endangered the health of consumers.

The bill further envisages a punishment of six months’ imprisonment and fine of Rs200,000 or both for those responsible for affecting the health of a consumer who consumes an adulterated food item .

The bill also proposes sentence of six months and a fine up to Rs500,000 in case a shopkeeper was found giving fake guarantee to a customer on the sale of a food item.

The newly passed law suggests penal action proposed by food safety officers for providing misleading information or making undue changes in information on the packaging of a food item.

The food minister and secretary will the authority’s chairperson and convener respectively.

The members of the food authority include the secretaries of the departments of health, education, agriculture, livestock and fisheries and local government; the Karachi commissioner, three nominated members of the Sindh Assembly, and the chairperson of the Sindh Assembly’s standing committee on food.

The chairperson of the authority can summon the commissioner of any division of the province to attend its meeting if needed.

Women’s day

The assembly unanimously passed four separate resolutions to pay homage to women who had rendered distinguished services in different walks of life especially in the fields of human rights and democracy.

The resolutions were moved and adopted by the house in connection with the International Women’s Day on March 8.

The resolutions were moved by MPAs Ghazala Siyal of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, Naheed Begum of the MQM, Sorath Thebo of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Dr Seema Zia of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

The speakers on the resolution paid tribute to slain PPP leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto for her tireless services for the restoration of democracy and uplifting of the status of women in the society.

Water schemes

Local government minister Jam Khan Shoro assured the House that the provincial government was working on new projects of additional water supply on a fast-track basis including the K-IV bulk water supply scheme so that the issue of severe water shortage in Karachi could be overcome in the minimum time possible.

Responding to a call-attention notice of PTI lawmaker Khurrum Sher Zaman, the provincial minister said the first phase of the K-IV water supply scheme would provide 260 million gallons additional water to the residents of the city every day.

Two other schemes are also under way to supply 100 MGD and 65 MGD additional water to Karachi He said efforts were under way to provide water to the residents of the tail-end areas of the city.

The minister added that a water hydrant in Garden area of Karachi, identified by the PTI lawmaker, had been closed.