Nadra to issue 'Benazir Muawinat Cards' for 85,000 Zakat beneficiaries soon

The Sindh Zakat department and National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) a few days back. Nadra would now issue "Benazir Muawinat Cards" for 85,000 Zakat beneficiaries very soon, Business Recorder has learnt.
Secretary Zakat and Ushr and Director General Nadra Sindh had signed the MoU respectively on behalf of their institutions. Muhammad Sajid Jokhio, Minister Zakat and Ushr and former Justice Zahid Qurban Alvi, Chairman Sindh Zakat Council were also present on the occasion.
Well-informed sources told this scribe that under the MoU, the Guzara Allowance would now be paid to around 85,000 identified beneficiaries through "Benazir Muawinat Cards".
Each beneficiary would receive Rs 3,000 (at the rate of Rs 500 per month) every six months through Nadra's E-Sahulat Centres by going through a process of bio-metric identification, they said.
This new change in disbursement of Guzara Allowance will shift the system of Zakat department towards the complete transparency. Annually, around Rs 500 million out of Zakat budget shall be disbursed through the new mode, they said.
This scheme was initiated on the directives of President Asif Ali Zardari. The Zakat department had provided the list of 181,298 Zakat-beneficiaries to Nadra officials, sources added.
Nadra would also establish more than 100 outlets all over the province for the disbursement of said cards and would also conduct reporting and monitoring of whole new e-system, they said.
A large number of outlets would be established in the suburbs of Karachi and Hyderabad while, outlets would also be established in all other districts as well, sources said.
Nadra database would be instrumental in identification and screening of Mustahiqeen. The disbursement of Zakat through Benazir-Muawinat-Cards would minimise human involvement in the process of disbursement, sources said.
While, provincial Zakat and Ushr department would provide funds to Nadra six months prior to disbursement of Zakats, sources added. With launching of this new scheme, the beneficiaries would draw their Zakat amount through ATM booths, they informed.