Cabinet okays ordinance to provide relief to lockdown-hit people, businesses

Mon, April 27, 2020

KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet on Monday approved the Sindh Covid-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance, 2020 to provide relief to the people and mitigate the challenges emanating from the province-wide lockdown.

The cabinet meeting was attended by all provincial ministers, advisers, the chief secretary and other officials concerned.

Briefing the cabinet, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the provincial government had proposed the ordinance to put in place all necessary measures to help respond to the people affected by Covid-19 by providing relief to them.

He said that the ordinance would be sent to the Sindh governor for approval.

A government spokesperson said that the Sindh Covid-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance, 2020 would provide equal relief to domestic residential and commercial tenants, employees and daily-wages workers; extending deadlines associated with responding to school fees, rent and utility charges, conduct of trial or indictment and extension of period for performance of duties by the court or an office.

20pc reduction in schools’ fee

According to the relief envisaged in the ordinance, no educational institution shall charge more than 80 per cent of the total monthly fees. No employee or worker shall be laid off, terminated or removed and the employee shall be paid salary by the employers. The salary amount and the deduction, if necessary, is given in schedule-I of the ordinance.

All utility providers falling within the territorial jurisdiction of the government shall provide concession (schedule-II of the ordinance) in the utility services to all domestic, residential and commercial consumers.

Govt gives tax exemptions to traders, reduces school fee; Murad says ordinance is being sent to governor

A landlord shall defer or suspend the recovery of the rent of the premises for payable amount as indicated in schedule-III; provided that the same shall not apply in case where the owner is widow, differently abled person and senior citizen.

The government may provide exemption in the provincial taxes, duties, fees, cess, levies and charges.

In case of non-compliance with the ordinance different penalties have been defined.

Commissioners get magisterial powers

The cabinet approved a proposal to authorise the home secretary and all divisional commissioners to perform the powers under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

On the request of the home department, the cabinet approved a proposal to authorise jail superintendent to grant 72-hour temporary parole to an undertrial prisoner(s) to attend death of his/her blood relative.

The cabinet also authorised the home department to grant temporary parole to prisoner(s), undertrial prisoners/convicts for 72 hours to attend marriage of blood relative or visit seriously ill blood relatives.

The cabinet approved one-time waiver of the Sindh Sales Tax on the commission payable to the branchless banking retailers disbursing the cash financial assistance provided under the Ehsaas Kafalat programme of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

The Sindh cabinet also approved exemption of tax and duties on import and transfer of machines and equipment for the Gwadar Hospital project.

The cabinet accorded ex-post facto approval of all the notifications, circulars and standard operating procedures issued by the home secretary, law secretary and other secretaries of administrative departments under the Sindh Epidemic Disease Act 2014.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2020

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