LARKANA, June 13: Failure to constitute local committees in the absence of chairman District Zakat Committee has deprived people of money since fiscal 2004-05 to 2006-07.

Hafiz Abdul Qadir Siyal who resigned from the district committee membership told Dawn that Syed Deedar Shah was appointed chairman of the committee in 2004-05 but he did not formulate local committees and was removed on charge of irregularities following an inquiry. However, in last two terms, the Sindh government did not make an appointment, he said.

The District Officer said an amount of Rs2.7 million lapsed in fiscal 2004-05 when the chairman was looking after affairs, while the money was for scholarship and medicines.

The Arbab government tried clandestinely to appoint chairman for Larkana district and had in this context interviewed certain candidates but the seat remained vacant for two terms due to political reasons, sources said.

Around Rs66.817 million lapsed during the two terms, District Zakat Officer said and added that around Rs36 million and Rs30.75 million were surrendered through the State Bank of Pakistan in 2005-06 while not a single paisa went to mustahqeen in Larkana district during this period. Students and the poor in need of medicines were worst hit, he said.

The government, after a gap of three years appointed former Naib Nazim of Larkana Taluka Council Nooruddin Abro as Chairman District Zakat Committee who was replaced within four days by Mohammed Moosa Abro because of liking and disliking of the PPP leadership, said sources.

The new chairman made functional the system at eleventh hour as limited time was left for fund utilization. He could ill-afford to undertake the exercise of electing local Zakat committees due to time restriction, therefore, appointed administrators in different dehs to consume funds.

Summer vacation was another impediment in the way of students to receive scholarships. The new chairman was said to have contacted heads of schools to contact students in this regard while he disbursed Rs8.39 lakh towards medicines for poor in the first quarter.

District Officer Tarique Dayo told Dawn on Thursday that in the first quarter District Zakat Committee Larkana received Rs13,983,775, while the new chairman was optimistic to disburse the amount in the given time.

This correspondent when visited the office found it jam packed with applicants, and the new chairman firm to plug inefficiencies and leakages along with maintaining transparency.

It was learnt that the chairman was trying to transfer the allocated amount in the accounts of newly appointed ‘administrators’ prior to the arrival of new budget of Sindh, as with this it would reach to ‘eligible’ persons in time without fear of freezing allotments.