SARGODHA, July 19: Several Zakat beneficiaries have accused the District Zakat and Ushr Committee’s clerical staff of appropriating at least 50 per cent of their dues sanctioned for 2002-03.

Whereas the committee claims to have disbursed Rs184.5 million among 31,781 deserving people for their temporary and permanent rehabilitation, treatment and education in the past two months.

Some of the Zakat beneficiaries have alleged that the field staff of the committee have usurped half of the sanctioned amount so far, besides receiving monthly amounts.

Anwar Bibi, a local beneficiary, told this correspondent that the committee’s clerical staff pocketed half of the Rs30,000 sanctioned for her rehabilitation. In addition to that, she alleged that the field clerks received Rs500 every month from her without giving any receipt.

The woman said her case was approved when she complained to various district higher-ups. “Now I am being deprived of money every month.”

Pledging to unmask the usurpers, she also pointed out that the officials concerned drew huge amounts through fake identities.

She identified five people, including Muhammad Ameer of New Satellite Town, Zahoor Shahid of Islampura and Muhammad Yousaf of Zafrullah Chowk, as the main suspects. She said a PPP worker had been constantly receiving stipend for six children of his family, which was well-off. Similarly, two local councillors had been receiving stipend for children in the fictitious names.

Anwar Bibi claimed that a field clerk, Zafar, had denied her daughter the sanctioned amount for dowry on her refusal to share half of the amount with him.

Social worker Chaudhry Shoaib Ilyas, while talking to this correspondent, claimed that he knew each and every instance of malpractice at the District Zakat Office. He said the Punjab Zakat Council had sanctioned a large sum of money for a local office, but half of the sum had been appropriated by the field staff and chairmen of the Zakat committees.

According to Mr Ilyas, around 265 applications for temporary rehabilitation and 145 for dowry cases had been sanctioned. Of the total amount, a significant portion had been embezzled, he alleged.

He also alleged that most of the 2,590 people, who got loans for permanent rehabilitation, failed to follow the conditions prescribed by the authorities. When contacted, District Zakat and Ushr Committee chairman Shamshad Ali Mirza denied the allegations. He, however, claimed that he would order an impartial inquiry into the whole affair.

He said the committee had disbursed Rs48.8 million (Rs500 a month) among 10,640 deserving people as maintenance allowance, Rs13.068 million among 12,366 students and Rs5.85 million among 1,548 pupils of the religious seminaries.

For small businesses, Rs5,000 had been given to 580 deserving people and Rs2.9 million were distributed among 290 people, he added.