Ramadan price shock: Family cards may ease it a little

As the prices of daily essentials continue to soar, the government has decided to sell several essential goods at subsidised prices to 88 lakh selected low-income families outside the capital from Sunday.

The beneficiaries will be given "Family Cards", which will make them eligible to buy the commodities from the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) once before Ramadan. They will also be able to avail themselves of the benefit once in the middle of the Arabic month, which starts in the first week of April.

The TCB dealers will sell the essentials to the beneficiaries in metropolitan areas, districts, upazilas and unions, said officials.

Officials have already started preparing the cards with the help of deputy commissioners' offices across the country, they added.

Twelve lakh families in the capital are now getting the benefits of the open market sales (OMS) programme of TCB without any cards, said Humayun Kabir, senior executive and press relationship officer at the corporation.

However, there are concerns as to whether the actual low-income families would benefit from the initiative, especially since the government in 2020 faced difficulties in distributing a one-off cash incentive under a stimulus package to 50 lakh families.

Under the Tk 1,258 crore package, each of 50 lakh families were supposed to get a cash support of Tk 2,500. But the initiative was suspended before reaching 35 lakh families amid allegations that the names of well-off people were on the list of beneficiaries. Such initiatives also failed to reach the desired goals as officials could not prepare the lists of beneficiaries.

Under the new arrangements, two litre of soybean oil and two kg each of lentils and sugar will be sold in the first phase and two kg of chickpeas will be added to the three items in the second.

Soybean oil will be sold at Tk 110 a litre, lentils at Tk 65 a kg, sugar at Tk 55 a kg, and chickpeas at Tk 50 a kg.

Dates will only be sold in the capital for Tk 80 a kg.

Contacted, Deputy Commissioner Asif Ahasan of Rangpur said officials started preparing the list of beneficiaries in late February and have already printed the cards.

"There will be two copies of the cards. One will be given to beneficiaries and another to dealers," he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said under another arrangement, 50 lakh people already have cards with which they can buy rice at only Tk 10, reports BSS.

Stating that 38 lakh people received financial assistance (amid the pandemic), she said "a total of one crore people will get the card."

HC DIRECTIVES

The High Court yesterday directed the government to take action under all applicable laws against the hoarders of daily essentials.

In response to a writ petition, the court ordered the authorities concerned to issue ration cards under the open market sale (OMS) programme for edible oil, onion, rice, wheat, sugar and lentils.

It asked them to submit separate reports to it on the steps taken to prevent illegal syndication of businesses and the hiking the prices of essential commodities.

Secretaries at the ministries of commerce and home affairs and chairman of Bangladesh Competition Commission have been asked to place the reports to the HC by April 26, Deputy Attorney General Protikar Chakma told The Daily Star.

Lawyer Syed Mohidul Kabir, one of the three writ petitioners, told this correspondent that only wheat and rice are now sold through OMS Policy, 2015. Edible oil, onion, rice, wheat, sugar and lentils must be included in the policy, which is currently being updated.

The HC also issued a rule asking the officials concerned to explain in four weeks as to why their failure in monitoring and controlling market prices of essentials should not be declared illegal.

The court asked them to explain why they should not be directed to formulate a regulation under the Competition Act, 2012, in order to stop syndicates that are responsible for making the market unstable.

It also wanted to know why the inaction and failure of the national consumer rights protection directorate in taking remedial measures should not be declared illegal.

Secretaries at the ministries of commerce, home affairs and food, Bangladesh Competition Commission, consumer rights protection directorate, trading corporation of Bangladesh and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry are respondents to the rule.

The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice SM Maniruzzaman delivered the orders and issued the rule.