PESHAWAR, Aug 28: Provincial Minister for Zakat, Ushr, Social Welfare and Women Development Hafiz Hashmat Khan has said that 99 per cent of zakat funds were utilized during 2002-03 in the NWFP.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, the minister recalled that before the MMA took charge of the NWFP the percentage of zakat utilization was very low. He said that in one of its meetings the Central Zakat Council had expressed concern over the matter as last year zakat funds worth Rs170 million could not be used.

He informed that the NWFP Government had approached the Centre for the recovery of zakat funds lapsed.

Mr Khan said the present government would purge the system of distribution of zakat funds of all sorts of corruption to ensure judicious and timely distribution.

He said punitive actions were required to be taken against corrupt officials and chairmen of the zakat committees.

He disclosed that resignations from 68 local zakat committee chairmen had been received in district Peshawar alone.

He said that all bureaucratic hurdles to timely utilization of zakat funds would be removed.

Referring to the achievements of his department, the minister said, last year the federal government released Rs35.5 million for construction of seven big hospitals of the province.

He said that the government had agreed to provide special funds for combating fatal diseases like hepatitis in the NWFP and a case in this regard would be presented next month before the Central Zakat Council.

He informed Rs39 million had been distributed among Madaris in the province during 2002-03 while in 2000-01, Rs10 million were distributed.

Under the Guzara Allowance, Rs290.21 million were distributed among 815,211 deserving students during 2002-03.

The minister said, Rs86.8 million were distributed under educational scholarship during 2002-03, benefiting 47,187 students.

Mr Khan said, the Department of Zakat and Ushr had started the Permanent Rehabilitation Scheme in 2001-01 under which Rs10,000 to Rs50,000 were provided to the deserving people to enable them to earn a living.

In 2001-02, he said, Rs268.63 million were distributed among 21,494 poor people under the said scheme while in 2002-03 54,683 people were given Rs.683 million. He disclosed that the Zakat and Ushr Department had begun a training programme for deserving Hunarmand (skilled) under which students would be given Rs1,000 during training while Rs5,000 would be provided to them after the completion of training.

Replying to a question he said, the department had detected embezzlement of Rs1,100,000 in zakat funds out of which Rs300,000 had been recovered.

The minister said the NWFP Zakat and Ushr Department had terminated services of seven district zakat Chairmen and 39 district zakat members while an inquiry had been ordered against 200 local zakat committees due to their alleged corrupt practices and misuse of powers.

Chairmen of the local committees have also been dismissed into which the government has ordered an inquiry.—APP/PPI