Staff Reporter
The Ehsaas Kafaalat tranche for the period July 2020 – December 2020 has been released this week. With the release of Kafaalat tranche nationwide, biometrically enabled payment operations have also been mobilized in the entire country to serve Kafaalat recipients. To review arrangements, SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar made a visit to a Kafaalat Payment site in Tarnol area of Islamabad.
At the site, she met with Kafaalat beneficiaries who had arrived to collect Rs. 12,000 payment for the period July 2020-December 2020. She also witnessed biometrically driven cash withdrawal demonstrations along with COVID-19 protective safeguards.
“It is critical to ensure all standard operating procedures are followed with regard to COVID-19 and deliver quantum change in relation to quality of cash transfers”, Dr. Nishtar reiterated wile interacting with the Ehsaas and partnering bank teams. The main precautionary preparations being ensured at the Ehsaas campsites include social distancing compliance, cleaning, hand sanitization and fumigation of campsites etc. Alongside that, security agencies are ensuring the safety of beneficiaries by managing crowd and social distance.
Describing the scale of Ehsaas Kafaalat operations, Dr. Sania stated, “The Ehsaas Kafaalat payment will be made in phases. Phase I has commenced this week where disbursements have begun to 4.3 million women beneficiaries nationwide. Each Kafaalat beneficiary will be paid Rs. 12,000 covering the period July 2020 to December 2020. Prime Minister has already given approval to increase the number of Kafaalat beneficiaries to seven million women. Payments to additional beneficiaries will be made December 2020 onwards and the process will be completed in the current fiscal year.”
Ehsaas Kafaalat is the government’s flagship social protection programme through which it gives cash stipends of Rs. 2,000 monthly and bank accounts to the most deserving and poorest women across the country. This time round, Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiaries have the choice of going to, a biometrically enabled ATM or the payment sites. Under Ehsaas, HBL serves cash disbursals in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan and Bank Alfalah across KP, GB and AJK. Both banks are enhancing services across the country to ensure that women have easy access to their payments in a decent manner.
Later in the day, she visited Panagah (shelter home) being built in Tarnol. She took round of the site and reviewed the progress of construction work. Aon Abbas Buppi, Managing Director Pakistan Bait ul Mal gave an overview of the construction work being done at the site.
PM’s Focal Person on Panagah Naseem ur Rehman and other senior officials were also present. The construction work is ongoing under the supervision and management of PASSD through its executing agency, Pakistan Bait ul Mal.
