PESHAWAR, June 9: The provincial government has detected 85 cases of embezzlement in Zakat funds during the last four years and recovered about Rs2.5 million from those involved in funds misappropriation.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, NWFP Minister for Zakat, Usher and Social Welfare Department Hafiz Hashmat Khan said that legal action was being taken against the accused.

The government has decided to provide honorarium of Rs3,000 per month to chairmen of Zakat committees to curb corruption and ensure judicious distribution of Zakat funds.

The minister, while giving details of schemes and programmes undertaken and planned by his department, said that it received Rs490 million Zakat for the fiscal year 2005-06. The government was providing ‘Guzara allowance’, scholarships to students and even those studying in madresahs. The department was also imparting technical training to some 20,000 youth every year under Mora training programme.

The Zakat and Usher department had provided some Rs4.1 million to various public sector hospitals from Zakat funds to provide free healthcare facility to needy patients, the minister said.

He expressed concern over the constant lapse of funds and discontinuity of some welfare programmes. The programme under which unemployed people were rehabilitated was not functional for the last two years. The tenure of the Central Zakat Council had ended and it had not been made functional again to provide Zakat funds to unemployed people under the rehabilitation programme, the minister added.

He said he was not satisfied with the present Zakat system and only the system explained in Quran and Sunnah could ensure a better distribution of wealth.

The social welfare department had established three Daarul Kafala for beggars.