Rs70b disbursed among 2.8m flood affectees; BISP to launch ‘dynamic survey’ from Jan 15
Zubair Qureshi
Minister of State for Poverty Alleviation Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday held the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in collaboration with National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) was set to launch a new survey titled ‘Dynamic Survey’ for registration of the beneficiaries across the country. In this regard 647 dynamic registry offices would be set up at Tehsil and district levels.
The survey will start from January 15 and it will be an ongoing activity to cater to the needs of the poor and the deserving communities, he said.
Kundi expressed these views during an informal media talk at the BISP head office. Explaining the contours of this unique survey, Kundi said it would not be a typical door-to-door activity; rather the beneficiaries will have to arrive at the registry offices for their registration and in return they will be given a date for registration and further process.
This was Kundi’s first interaction with media after assuming the office some four months ago and during the conversation he spoke on a wide range of subjects including the prompt assistance to the flood affected people of Sindh, Balochistan, KP and the southern Punjab, inclusion of transgender community in the BISP network, restoration of some of the beneficiaries who were blocked by the previous government of Imran Khan and the BISP programmes for women empowerment, skill development and vocational training etc. Kundi said immediately after the devastating floods in September this year, the BISP moved to provide financial assistance to the affected people in different districts of Sindh, KP, Balochistan and Southern Punjab.In this regard, the district and tehsil officials of the affected areas were asked to prepare lists and send the details. After a careful survey, it was decided to disburse Rs25,000 among 2.8 million affectees. In this way a total sum of Rs70 billion was distributed among the flood victims, he said.
The BISP, he said is a brainchild of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and currently, around 8.5 million beneficiaries are receiving the quarterly financial assistance of Rs7,000.
Thus annually, Rs28,000 are disbursed under the BISP programme and the beneficiaries include the poor people of the remote areas of Balochistan, KP, Punjab and other parts of the country.
Kundi said the previous government in the name of bogus beneficiaries, had blocked some 800,000 BISP cards in one go. The step was taken in haste and without proper examination, he said. Now it has been decided to re-examine the list and revive those who deserve and were removed on petty charges.
To a question, Kundi said the BISP was a transparent financial assistance programme and international monitoring forums had found it up to the mark. It is next to impossible to do some corrupt practices. However, he admitted that there could be a possibility that the beneficiaries are deprived of their cash by someone whom they entrust with their cards. For this purpose, it has now been decided to open their accounts in the banks and the money will be transferred directly in their accounts, he said.
