The KPK province will start a comprehensive poverty survey in FATA from 1st week of next month. – Reuters Photo

PESHAWAR: The government will start poverty survey in FATA from 1st week of June this year, for which tribal areas have been divided on seven parts to make it more authentic and productive, a senior official said on Sunday.

Talking to APP, Director General Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) for KPK and FATA Ikram Ghani said that arrangements in this regard have been completed and the poverty survey will start in FATA from 1st week of next month. The survey will start from Bajaur Agency because of its better security environment and later on it would kick off simultaneously throughout the six agencies.

Three-day training and capacity building programs for officials would be responsible for collecting data about poverty in FATA will start next week and officials showing good performance would be awarded. To a question, he said that delay in starting of the survey in FATA was due to security, law and order situation saying that it would be completed in two months and its contract has been awarded to two firms.

World Bank will provide technical and financial assistance to make the survey transparent; he said and added that local people have been hired for the task.

He informed that 68, 7196 persons have been registered in 20 districts of KPK while work on seven lakhs forms earns progress. Ghani informed that poverty survey continued in Shangla, Kohistan, Bannu and Upper Dir. He said that poverty has been increased due to devastated floods.

He informed that 43,625 deserved families of district Charsada affected by floods have been registered with BISP and it is assumed that it would jumped to 60,000 while in Peshawar 94,000 families have been registered. Likewise, 80,000 in Mardan and 24,000 families were registered in Nowshera. In FATA, tribal elders, elected representatives and Ulama to make the program transparent, he said.

Under Waseela Haq Program, the official said 520 persons were trained and 996 persons were paid, while 140 people would be given to 1st Installment of Rs. 3 lakh next week.