ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan launched a multi-billion Ehsaas emergency cash programme on Monday for the workers and daily wage earners badly affected by the coronavirus crisis.

The prime minister met many jobless persons and inquired about their problems during the ceremony at the Ehsaas Centre. A stipend of Rs12,000 will be given to each applicant under the emergency programme. The scheme is distinct from the Ehsaas cash programme already in operation under which Rs144 billion was allocated for 12 million families .Over Rs100bn has so far been distributed.

Dr Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation, accompanied the prime minister and briefed him on the programme.

Mr Khan ordered swift and transparent distribution of cash among the deserving workers.

Each applicant will receive Rs12,000 under the programme

He said the fund was expanding as more and more people were making generous deposits. This will enable a large number of people to benefit from the scheme.

According to the Prime Minister Office, over 3.4 million applications from jobless people have been received through the Ehsaas Labour Portal so far. Moreover, Rs3bn has been mobilised under the PM Covid-19 Fund.

The prime minister has pledged that for each rupee given by a donor, the government will make a contribution of Rs4.

On May 2, Prime Minister Khan had inaugurated the Ehsaas Labour Portal, which enables those who have lost their livelihood due to the Covid-19 crisis to seek cash assistance from the government.

He had also announced that the donations made to the PM Covid-19 Fund would be used to give emergency cash to people who had lost their jobs or means of livelihood. An amount of Rs12,000 will be given to these individuals under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash scheme.

The existing principles and processes that have been deployed for Ehsaas Emergency Cash will be applied for disbursement of the Prime Minister’s Covid-19 donor funds. The process will be strictly regulated and monitored.

Data analytics will be employed for the selection of beneficiaries. The system of identification will be free from human interference and payments will be made after biometric verification, according to the authorities.

The PM Office said that tehsil-level bank disbursement and withdrawal details would be posted on https://www.pass.gov.pk/ecs/uct_all.html .

The tehsil-wise number of beneficiaries, bank disbursement details, accounts credited and the money withdrawn will be posted in real time.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2020