KARACHI, June 7: To protect the vulnerable groups from pains of adjustments aimed to achieve stability and threat of starvation Rs56 billion should be allocated to provide relief to the poor. The current monthly food support amount of Rs200 per month should be revised to Rs1,000 for four million households.

The Social Policy Development Centre recommends pro-poor allocation of about one fifth the size of the proposed PSDP and five-fold increase in food support programme in its report ‘Fiscal policy choices in budget 2008-09’ launched by Dr Hafiz Pasha here early this week.

“Based on the estimation of monthly expenditures on food items by the lowest income quintile in Household Income Estimation Survey 2005-06, the support amount is recommended at Rs1,000 per month per household,” says the report.

The report assessed the efficiency of different administrative set ups targeting to provide relief to the poor and found Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal (PB M) to be most effective when evaluated on a set of criteria developed for the purpose.

“PBM has developed a management information system to record basic information on programme beneficiaries -- which makes targeting more effective and monitoring of progress easier. Its overall administration costs are four per cent of total resources,” says the report.

The report does not favour extension of general food subsidy offered through Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistan because it scored “low on six criteria, including targeting efficiency, low coverage, and high share of programme expenditure scores high in three criteria, degree of ease of access, absence of negative incentive effects and degree of freedom from private transfers.”

The report analysed two livelihood programmes, national employment guarantee scheme for poor and graduate employment scheme but advocated to implement them only after “successful piloting”.

The report concludes on the note: “Given the characteristics of the people need to be cushioned from the adjustment burden, a combination of cash transfers and livelihood schemes have to be implemented concurrently.

Of course, the magnitude of financial allocation earmarked for the purpose in the budget 2008-09 will be the ultimate testimony of the government’s commitment and seriousness to the cause of the poor. On the basis of the estimated fiscal costs we recommend that a total allocation of Rs56 billion be made in the budget for providing relief to the poor in 2008-09”.