Sindh Zakat and Ushr department would release some Rs 220.30 million in the next couple of days to the NADRA as more than 65 thousands enrolled beneficiaries can collect their various Zakat allowances through Benazir Muawinat cards before Eid-ul-Fitr, Business Recorder learnt on Friday.
Currently, NADRA has enrolled 65,962 Zakat beneficiaries in their data of Benazir Muawainat cards and they all would be paid various allowances through this card in the first week of August, 2013. Well-informed sources told this correspondent that the process of issuing automated cards continues and all newly enrolled beneficiaries would get this card by July 31st, this year and these cards would be made functional from August 1st 2013. Sindh Zakat & Ushr department and National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on May 12, 2012.
From the August 1st, each zakat beneficiary would receive Rs 3,000 (at the rate of Rs 500 per month) every six months through Nadra's E-Sahulat centers by going through a process of bio-metric identification, sources said. This new change in the disbursement of all kind of Zakat allowances would shift the system of Zakat department towards complete transparency, they said. Provincial Zakat department would disburse annually around Rs 500 million out of the Zakat budget through these new automated cards, they said.
When contacted, Secretary Zakat and Ushr department Mohammad Ramzan Aiwan told Business Recorder that the department is working on the project of the Benazir Muawinat Cards, payment of Rs 223,521,500 would be released to NADRA within the next couple of days. He said that out of Rs 223,521,500 a grand total, 17,886,000 would be disbursed to the newly enrolled Rs 5,962 Zakat beneficiaries under the head of Guzara Allowance, Rs 197,886,000 would be disbursed to 65,962 beneficiaries in the head of the second instalment of the Guzara Allowance and Rs 7,740,500 would be paid to NADRA directly for the cost of newly made 30,962 cards.
To a question, he said that he is not the authority to release an amount to NADRA, he has issued an official note to Chairman Sindh Zakat Council former Justice Zahid Qurban Alavi who has the authority to release the amount. He said that there are more than 80,000 registered Zakat bneficiaries, all would be enrolled at the pool of Nadra for getting of Benazir cards. He said that the Benazir cards scheme was initiated on the directives of President Asif Ali Zardari.
Nadra has established more than 100 E-Sahulat outlets all over the province for the disbursement of Zakat under the head of various allowances, he added. Not only this, Ramzan Aiwan said that Nadra's teams are conducting reporting and monitoring of a whole new e-system to make it 100 percent transparent.
He said that many E-Sahulat outlets have been established in the suburbs of Karachi and Hyderabad districts and more than 80 outlets have been established in other districts of the province. "NADRA database would be instrumental in identification and screening of Mustahiqeen (deserving beneficiaries). Disbursement of Zakat through Benazir cards would minimise human-hand involvement resulting in transparency", Secretary Zakat said.
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