THE Punjab government’s decision to put cash in the hands of 1.3m ‘poorest of the poor’ families in the province from next month is highly commendable. It will spend Rs1bn every month to help the poorest segments of the population in the province. Though the paltry monthly stipend of Rs1,000 will not make much of a difference to the lives of the recipient families, the proposal shows a major shift in the thinking of the leadership of the PML-N, which has been ruling Punjab since 2008. The Shahbaz Sharif government that allegedly squandered billions of rupees in taxpayers’ money on such politically motivated projects as the sasti roti scheme during its last term seems to have realised the importance of direct, targeted cash subsidy to help the poor. Another important decision that the province has made for protecting the poor from the vagaries of prices pertains to the creation of a social protection authority to bring all existing and planned provincial cash subsidy and health insurance schemes under one umbrella.

The provincial social protection programme doesn’t have anything to do with the federal Benazir Income Support Programme launched by the previous government, but it is being modelled on Bisp and will utilise the database gathered under it. The success of any cash-grant programme in protecting the vulnerable and alleviating poverty depends largely on the level of commitment shown by the political leadership to the programme’s objectives. It means the chief minister will be required to give considerable time to make a success of the proposed programme and to create an effective infrastructure to ensure that funds allocated for disbursement are not misappropriated or their release delayed for the poor recipients. If implemented successfully, it could be an inspiration for similar programmes in other provinces as well.