SAHIWAL: As deserving people are getting restless to know when and how the pledged financial assistance from the federal and provincial governments will reach them, three parallel systems are running to collect personal data of the needy at the district level.

Even data collectors do not know how to respond to would-be recipients’ queries under what mechanism the Rs 4,000 assistance will reach them individually.

A number of senior district-level officials Dawn talked to say certain issues need to be addressed for clarity.

At present, needy persons data is being collected at three levels through union council level coordination committees, district zakat and usher committees, and direct data entry through mobile phones or registration at the websites of CM Imdad Insaaf Package and PM Ihsas Kafalit Programme.

Under the CM’s package 2.5 million individuals will get Rs 4,000 each and, according to a senior official, 7.5 million individuals have already applied for assistance in Punjab. As for the PM’s programme, there is no clarity at the local level.

Applicants getting restless, want to know when and how they will get assistance

Dawn learnt from sources the district administration had formed a five to six members UC level committees some two weeks back. Headed by a reputed civilian, each committee comprises UC secretary and one person each from police, army, education and revenue. The committees have been given three major tasks --- (A) collection of needy persons and families’ data in three major categories of above 50 years, below 10 years and within 10 and 50 years age groups, (B) launch of awareness campaigns in communities over corona disease, and (C) implementing the social distancing policy, especially in mosques, churches and seminaries.

Imtiaz Butt, head of the Union Council 6 Coordination Committee, Sahiwal City, told Dawn during the past one week committee members collected deserving families and individuals data from six wards. He said committee members physically went to each locality and collected data of 1,475 deserving households.

Imtiaz said the data they collected was submitted to army and education officials who were also members of the committee. “Both guys told us the data has been forwarded to quarters concerned.”

Regarding data information, Imtiaz said they were collecting each person’s name, father’s or husband’s name, CNIC number, personal cell number and, if possible, email address.

Imtiaz Butt said though he was head of the UC 6 committee, he did not know where the data had been submitted to, from which channel the financial assistance would come and what would be its disbursement mechanism. “This is the major confusion as deserving families are daily visiting UC offices,” he said.

On the other hand, both the provincial and federal governments are running an extensive advertising campaign over electronic, print and social media, asking deserving families and persons to submit their personal details through their mobile phones and websites.

The existing district zakat and usher committees are also in the field, compiling lists of labourer/daily wagers affected by the lockdown.

Gulam Farid, District Zakat Officer, told Dawn the affected workers/labourers’ lists had been compiled through our 558 village level zakat committees.

Mr Farid said each labourer would be given Rs 9,000 financial assistance, but in two instalments.

Reacting to the situation, Zaki Chaudhry, PPP’s District President and Nadeem Kamran, |PML-N’s district president, said how the deserving families data would be centralised and later processed for assistance was any body’s guess. They said the idea of “Tiger Force ‘’ comprising PTI people was further clouding the entire exercise.

Answering a question, Deputy Commissioner Zeeshan Javed said the data being collected through mobile phones would be considered for financial assistance. “The deserving families or individuals’ data will be collected and generated first at the provincial level. Later, it will be handed over to each DC who will form a committee of reputed people from different segments of society which will finally decide to whom Rs 4,000 will ultimately go,” he said.

Azhar Dewan, Deputy Director, Local Government, told Dawn ultimately the deserving families data submitted through mobile phones would be considered for assistance under the CM’s programme.

The DC said for the final disbursement, no physical or on-ground verification will be done by the district level committee. “It will be done through existing deserving families’ databases available with the BISP, or zakat department or data lying with the local government department.”

Asked why not district administration stopped other data collectors like UC committees, the DC said they were working for the corona awareness campaign only and data collection task had been withdrawn from them.

To a question, Imtiaz Butt said his UC committee had not been communicated officially that their role of data collection had been withdrawn.

AGE GROUPS: An official source said another strategic purpose was to have a list of people falling within 50 years and 10 years age groups. “This will help in separating this population if any chronic situation of coronavirus spreads at a vast level.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2020