AT a time when the people living below the poverty-line are facing the brunt of price hike, it is really heartening to see that the PTI government is further expanding the scope of its flagship Ehsaas Program to protect these segments of society.
Minister for Communications Murad Saeed and Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Sania Nishtar told media on Saturday that Prime Minister Imran Khan will launch Ehsaas Kafalat Program on Friday next under which two thousand rupees will be provided to each deserving family per month and that a total of five hundred thousand people will benefit from this program. We are confident that transparency will be ensured in this program as well by the government in the same manner as it excluded hundreds of thousands of non-deserving families from the BISP. The cash grant under Ehsaas Kifalat Program should only go to the deserving families especially the widows and those who have no bread earners without taking into account any political consideration. Then these and the BISP beneficiaries should also be provided with Sehat Card so that they could use the cash grants only for purchasing essential daily used items. Since the cash grant will be transferred through the bank accounts, therefore, it will also help the government achieve the target of greater financial inclusion. Since several other programs have also been launched under Ehsaas including disbursement of interest free loans, efforts should be directed towards lifting the people out of poverty permanently and enabling the cash grants recipients to stand on their own feet by imparting them training in different fields. Providing cows, goats and buffaloes to those in the rural areas is also a novel and good idea to help these poor families earn their own livelihood in a respectable manner. What is required is that the government accelerates its efforts towards that end so that the people could genuinely feel change promised to them in the elections.
