ISLAMABAD: The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) will on Monday release its fourth quarterly tranche of Rs81 billion cash assistance to be disbursed among nine million poorest of the poor registered with the social safety net.

This assistance is under the Benazir Kafaalat programme of BISP and each beneficiary will get Rs9,000 to support them meet their household requirements.

Previously, the assistance amount was Rs8,500, which was increased to Rs9,000 by the federal government this year.

In addition to Benazir Kafaalat cash assistance, the BISP is also set to start disbursement of its stipends among school-going students from the poor families.

Titled as Benazir Taleemi Wazaif, this is a Rs16bn installment of January to March which will be disbursed amongst 6.7 million school-going students having at least 70 per cent school attendance.

Under the scheme, at primary level, Rs2,000 is paid to a girl student while Rs1,500 is given to a boy student. At the secondary level, a girl student and a boy student are paid Rs3,000 and Rs2,500, respectively. Similarly, at higher secondary level, the stipend is Rs4,000 and Rs3,500 for the female and male students, respectively

The BISP has made arrangements to ensure easy and transparent distribution of the assistance. For this purpose, the BISP has established 1,559 campsites throughout the country.

Payment of the assistance through ATMs of HBL and Bank Alfalah accounts will not be available nor will any payment be made at the point of sale outside the campsite established by the BISP.

Federal Minister for Pov­erty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri, in her message, advised the registered beneficiaries to receive the full amount of Rs9,000 along with receipt of payment.

She said the monitoring teams must watch and supervise the cash disbursement process and ens­ure stern action against any complaint of leakage or deduction from beneficiaries’ cash assistance.

The minister stressed that the beneficiaries should rece­ive the entire amount of Rs9,000 plus stipend of Benazir Taleemi Wazaif accor­ding to gender or education level of the child. She also urged the beneficiaries to demand a receipt of their payment.

She also advised them that in case of any complaint, the beneficiaries should immediately report to BISP’s toll-free helpline 0800-26477 and inform the BISP officer deputed at the campsite to ensure transparent disbursement of the cash.

All messages sent by BISP will come from the number 8171, she said.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2023