Sindh Assembly Thursday unanimously passed the Fisheries Amendment Bill 2011, abolishing lease system of fishing in the province's fresh waters, besides protecting fishermen's financial interests. In addition, the House also approved Sindh Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, enhancing the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Civil Courts of Karachi District to try suits up to Rs 15 million. Previously, the amount limit was Rs 3 million.
Speaker Nisar Khoro resumed the proceedings, allowing members to raise questions regarding stored wheat condition in different government's warehouses located in various parts of the province. Sindh Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ayaz Soomro tabled the Sindh Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2011 seeking legislators' support for an end to lease system of fishing in the province and allowing issuance of independent licenses to fishermen.
All the members lauded the government for presenting the long-awaited fisheries amendment bill in the house and said that the legislation would ultimately benefit the poor fishermen. Sindh Minister for Fisheries Zahid Bhurgari informed the House that there were 1,209 fresh water bodies in the province where fishing was allowed under contract system, which some influential forces were controlling through lease system.
He said the PPP members in Sindh Assembly had tried twice in the past to amend the law but failed for want of support. The minister that said there were between 0.4 to 0.5 million fishermen engaged in the Sindh fresh water bodies but were unable to earn better wages because of the lease system. He hoped that now with the passage of the new bill, the fishermen would earn good sum for their catch and live a respectable life.
Bhurgari told the house that his department had begun survey of fresh water bodies in the province. Jam Tamachi and Nadir Magsi raised concerns regarding implementation of the fisheries law. They urged the concerned department to ensure proper implementation of the law so that the poor fishermen could get relief from their persistent sufferings.
The house rejected an amendment to the Sindh Civil Courts Bill 2011 presented by Arif Mustafa Jatoi of National Peoples Party seeking substitution of Rs 15 million by Re 1. He was of the view that the bill was giving an impression that Karachi was different from rest of the province and the country where no such law existed.
He termed the bill a sheer discrimination against "Sindhis and all Pakistanis" as they would be treated differently from people of Karachi. He further said it was "violation of basic rights of all Pakistanis". Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazhar criticised Arif Jatoi and said that it was not a discriminatory law rather an attempt to facilitate the Karachi's judiciary and litigants.
He said it was a long-time demand of the Karachi's lawyers to increase the amount from Rs 3 million and in the first step the house had decided to enhance it up to Rs 15 million. He said property value in Karachi kept soaring very often as compared to the value of land in other parts of the province, therefore, it was felt necessary to enhance the amount for the civil suits in the metropolis.
Earlier, Anwar Mehar also raised question over the Sindh Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill 2011 on the basis which Arif Jatoi had discussed. Expressing fears during the question-hour session, Sindh Food Minister Nadir Magsi said the government may not be able to procure wheat during the next season for lack of finance.
He suggested a ban on wheat movement from Punjab into Sindh so that the existing quantity of the commodity lying in the province's stores could be sold. He also told the house that the government planned to set up silos in different parts of the province to store about 0.5 million tons of wheat. In this regard, an agreement had been singed and the project was likely to be completed in two years, he pointed out. MQM member Muhammad Tahir Qureshi invited the house's attention towards the killing of traders in Lyari and Garden areas of the city. Former Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Rahim's leave was extended with the approval of all members during the session. The Speaker adjourned the session till Friday.
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