Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme: Rs 13.18 billion distributed among 1.1 million people

The first phase of the federal government's ongoing drive to provide financial cash assistance of Rs12,000 each to 4.5 million less-privileged women is scheduled for completion by next week for which the federal government has already released Rs49 billion while it is set to release the remaining Rs95 billion in a fortnight for a total of 12 million deserving families under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme.

Till Saturday, Rs13.18 billion was distributed among nearly 1.1 million people, according to the figures released by federal government.

Last week, the federal cabinet earmarked Rs200 billion to financially support the downtrodden segments of society adversely affected by lockdown measures taken to stop the spread of coronavirus. Out of these funds, Rs144 billion is to be spent to provide Rs12,000 each to 12 million families. The remaining Rs56 billion has been allocated as a standby arrangement in case the number of those who are to be provided with the cash assistance exceeds the total estimated number, official sources told Business Recorder.

Since Thursday, the distribution of Rs144 billion under Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme has been ongoing countrywide. In the first phase of this two-week programme, 4.5 million women already registered under Kifaalat Programme would be provided cash assistance.

These women are already being provided Rs2000 monthly under Ehsaas Kifaalat Programme and Rs36 billion has already been allocated under Ehsaas Kifaalat Programme for four months while Rs18 billion has been additionally allocated to provide them one-time assistance of Rs12,000 (Rs3000 for four months) under Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme (this includes the financial assistance under Ehsaas Kifaalat Programme), Business Recorder has learnt.

Including the Rs18 billion, the federal government earlier on Friday released the sum of Rs49 billion for the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme and plans to release the remaining Rs95 billion within the stipulated time period of two weeks to complete the distribution process, it is further learnt.

In the second phase, four million registered through National Socioeconomic Database would be provided cash assistance whereas in the third and last phase of the two-week drive, 3.5 million applicants are being registered through the government's designated Short Messaging Service (SMS), web portal and district administrations concerned with the assistance of the relevant union councils.

Apart from Rs144 billion, the remaining Rs56 billion would be utilised only if required (in case more than 12 million families are found eligible for financial support), sources in Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division told Business Recorder.

Apart from Ehsaas Emergency Programme, the federal government, in collaboration with provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have respectively launched Ehsaas Imdad Package Punjab and Insaf Imdad Programme Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to provide financial aid to needy in the backdrop of the spread of coronavirus in the country.

The Ehsaas Imdad Package Punjab is executed by Punjab government under the supervision of Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar. Earlier, this programme aimed to provide Rs4000 each to 2.5 million poor families in Punjab. Now, the amount to be provided to the poor families has been increased from Rs4,000 to Rs12,000.

The Insaf Imdad Programme Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is executed by the KP government under the supervision of CM KP Mahmood Khan. This package aims to provide Rs2,000 to each poor family. The exact number of families to be provided assistance under this programme would be determined after a detailed survey, official sources told Business Recorder.

Meanwhile, 40 Ehsaas Emergency Cash retailers were arrested over swindling the beneficiaries in some parts of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and cases were registered against them, a press release said on Saturday.