Consumers now have a law to protect rights

Karachi
The Sindh Assembly unanimously passed into law on Friday the Sindh Consumer Protection Bill, 2014 – a first of its kind legislation in the province to formally protect the rights of consumers.
Parliamentary affairs minister Dr Sikandar Ali Mandhro presented the proposed bill in the house for its clause-by-clause consideration.
It was presented on the basis of a report prepared by the provincial assembly’s standing committee on law, parliamentary affairs, and human rights.
The committee considered two identical bills on consumer protection, one was government bill number 13 of 2014 and the other was private bill number 10 of 2013 moved by Pakistan People’s Party MPA Sharmila Farooqui.
The two proposed laws were clubbed together before referring them to the standing committee for consideration.
The chairman of the standing committee, Syed Sardar Ahmed, who is also the parliamentary leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, presented the report with amendments in the two bills together.
The new law envisages the formation of consumer protection councils at provincial and district levels and consumer courts for formally safeguarding consumers’ rights and privileges against instances of damages, false claims, forgery and deception in advertising in purchasing different products and services.
The law reads: “The public in general is facing serious difficulties in purchasing essential human consumable commodities, which are being manufactured and sold without any proper check and control. In order to promote and protect the rights and interests of the consumer, it is expedient to make provisions to establish a consumer protection council and consumer tribunals and for matter connected these with and incidental thereto.”
The section number 26 of the law dealing with the formation of consumer courts states that a claim for damages arising out of contravention of any provisions of the Act shall be filed before a consumer court. The government will establish one or more separate consumer courts to exercise the jurisdiction and powers under the Act. A consumer court shall consist of a judicial magistrate to be appointed by government in consultation with the Sindh High Court.
The sub-section 1 of section no 33 of the law reads: “Where a manufacturer fails to perform or in any way infringes the liabilities provide in sections 4 to 8, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18 and 22, he/she shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to hundred thousand rupees or with both in addition to damages or compensation as may be determined by the court”.
When a defendant or the claimant fails or omits to comply with any order by a consumer court, they will be punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than a month which may extend to three years, or with fine not less than Rs50,000 which may extend to Rs200,000 or with both.
When a claim is found to be frivolous or vexatious, a consumer court will dismiss the claim and impose fine on the claimant up to an amount not exceeding Rs10,000 for having wilfully instituted a false claim and award appropriate compensation to the defendant from the amount of the fine.
Four new mega projects in city
Responding to a point of order raised by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Ameer Ali Shah Sherazi, information and local government minister Sharjeel Memon informed the House that four mega development projects would soon be started in Karachi.
These projects include the 26 kilometre-long elevated expressway from Jinnah Bridge to Quaidabad via Sharea Faisal, the underpass project at Mehran Hotel intersection on Sharea Faisal, the dual carriageway on the link road between the National and Super highways and the bus rapid transit service.
Memon said the provincial government would envisage a system under which the employees of the city’s civic agencies would be able to draw their salaries from April 1 this year only after opening an account in the Sindh Bank.
He said the new accounts would be opened after the employees personally appeared and that too after their verification through a biometric system.
“This way, the government will be able to rid the civic agencies of ghost employees,” he added.
Memon invited the elected representatives of all political parties to support the upcoming campaign “Clean, green, and peaceful Sindh” being launched from February 23.
He said under this campaign, the government envisaged planting 100,000 plants in Karachi alone and 600,000 in the rest of the province.
To a call attention notice of MQM’s Kamran Akhtar, Memon said the provincial government would adopt the same pattern of security and safety features for the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation-run schools in Karachi as recommended by the education department for government and private schools.

Gas for Thal
The assembly unanimously passed a resolution presented by PPP lawmaker Dr Sohrab Khan Sarki for the provision of Sui gas to Thul town. “This assembly is of the opinion that the Sindh government should approach the Centre for the extension of Sui Gas for Thul which was approved by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in 1996,” it read.