LAHORE, July 15: District Coordination Officers (DCOs) and not members of Punjab Assembly (MPAs) will now finalise the lists of Rs22 billion food stamp scheme recipients to “ensure their credibility and transparency”, officials revealed to Dawn on Tuesday.

The scheme was announced by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif a few days ago and it was earlier stated the lists would be made by MPAs.

The change in the policy was mentioned at a meeting of DCOs which was presided over by Chief Secretary Javed Mehmood here on Tuesday, asking them to complete lists by the end of the month so that the scheme could be launched on Aug 14.

Official sources said the meeting learnt MPAs would submit the lists to DCOs who would verify them through committees of apolitical notables of their districts, and through other sources.

Sources said all MPAs, even those from the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), would submit the lists as against the earlier decision to involve runner-up or defeated PML-N candidates and workers in the process.

Sources said the chief secretary invited proposals regarding the inclusion of only deserving people on lists and told DCOs to finalise the lists ensuring transparency.

Under the scheme, every recipient will get 12 tokens carrying a value of Rs1,000 each. Token holders will be able to buy items of daily use from utility or other designated stores against one stamp every month. Officials say this is a subsidy in kind, and is not cash.

SCHOOLS: The meeting learnt the government would re-introduce the post of director education for better coordination. The government has also decided pilot projects ensuring 100 per cent attendance in schools will be launched in Faisalabad, Kasur, Sialkot and Bahawalpur, sources say.