Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Chairperson Farzana Raja has said that country-wide "Poverty Scorecard Survey" would be completed till June, 2011 to provide the Benazir Smart Card with Barcode for payment of Rs 1000 to each beneficiary.
She said this at a meeting of National Assembly Standing Committee on Postal Services held with Pir Muhammad Aslam Bodla in the chair at Parliament House on Wednesday.
The Committee discussed complaints regarding BISP and Nadra authorities and efforts made by the Ministry of Postal Services to ensure transparency in distribution of BISP amount to beneficiaries. The members of the committee appreciated the efforts of BISP Chairperson Farzana Raja to make this programme more easy and transparent. Farzana Raja told the committee that BISP is being reorganised at international level and is providing financial support to 2.24 million families in the country.
She said that BISP is conducting survey for smart cards which would be completed in June, 2011. She said that after completion of the survey, we would be able to provide financial support to 5 million families. She said that BISP has launched the Smart Card as pilot project in certain districts including Mianwali, Multan and Sanghar on the test basis to make the payment through ATMs and where this facility is not available, making money delivery through the franchise shop is being considered.
She said that through the Smart Card, the beneficiaries would also be provided Rs 3 Lakh under Waseela-e-Haq Programme, along with life and health insurance and vocational training of one member of the family. Farzana Raja said, "World Bank is providing $60 million and Asian Development Bank $150 million as grant to BISP for poverty alleviation while $174 million under Kerry Lugar Bill are being provided"
For survey, she proposed the committee that the MNAs should constitute committees at Union Council level to support and monitor the process of survey. She said, we removed the condition of passport and bank account in the in-eligibility Criteria," Answering to a question, she said that there is separate package of Fata and World Bank is conducting survey through NGOs.
She said that the BISP would also introduce phone to phone banking system to make it easy for beneficiaries. She said that to date an amount of Rs 57.099 million has been distributed among the needy persons. Later, the members of the committee recommended that the Post Office should be upgraded and modernised as envisaged in the banking system. The Committee also recommended that the Pakistan Post Office should provide its proposals within two weeks.