ISLAMABAD: The economy has benefited from the distribution of cash aid to underprivileged citizens, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and the Social Safety Division Dr Sania Nishtar told a Senate committee on Monday.

“Overall, 16.2 million people have been included in the cash aid category of the Ehsaas programme. The programme was started with Rs144 billion, and has now reached Rs203bn,” she said during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation.

Dr Nishtar, who heads the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), said that under a 2019 policy, three conditions — a biometric system, data site and SMS or web systems — will be mandatory for cash payments.

The second phase of the Ehsaas programme will be announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan soon, she said.

“It is the most transparent programme and is being run as per international standards and a number of parameters have been included. Even the prime minister can not include the name of any person as a beneficiary because there is zero human intervention and programme is run under an automated system,” she explained.

“People with an income of Rs50,000, a vehicle, those who have travelled abroad, land owners and government employees are not entitled for cash grants. Even telephone bills from the last six months are considered for cash grants,” she said.

Committee chair Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini from the Balochistan National Party said that millions of people who were already living below the poverty line are facing worsening situations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He said public representatives should be involved to identify eligible information, as they are well informed of their areas and constituents.

PPP Senator Rubina Khalid said people who have travelled for Hajj and Umrah should not be ignored, as the trips of many pilgrims are paid for by wealthy individuals. Senator retired Lt Gen Abdul Qayyum from the PML-N agreed.

Dr Nishtar responded that she could not make this decision on her own, and a number of measures have been taken to eliminate the chances of corruption in the programme.

Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party Senator Usman Khan Kakar said that the BISP survey was old and could no longer be trusted. He said a new survey should be carried out and cash aid distributed on the basis of poverty rather than provincial population.

The committee was informed that 2,700 people were deemed ineligible for aid and their names were shared publicly.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2020