Provincial Minister for Zakat & Usher Malik Nadeem Kamran has said that more than Rs three billion have been given to more than 500,000 deserving people in the head of subsistence allowance, provision of facilities of public health, educational and religious scholars, Ramazan, Eid and marriage grant.
He said that due to arrival of Ramazan ul Mubarak twice in 2014-15, the department has issued Ramazan and Eid grant to more than 100,000 people twice. He appealed to philanthropists to put their share in this noble cause and supplement the government efforts for the welfare of deserving persons.
Talking to media the Minister said that all payments had been made through mobile phone service on quarterly basis by organising the department on modern lines due to which the payments have been made to the deserving people nearest to their home in a transparent and honourable manner. He said that Rs one thousand per month subsistence allowance had been given to more than 100,000 widows, disabled, blind and elderly people.
Nadeem Kamran said that an amount of Rs eighty million had been provided to more than 20,000 deserving male and female students through scholarship committees set up in educational institutions. He said that more than one billion rupees had been provided for the promotion of vocational education where more than 32,000 deserving male and female students were provided modern vocational training in relevant institutes so that they could earn livelihood honourably.
The Provincial Minister said that marriage grant too had been increased 100 percent from Rs 10000 rupees to Rs 20, 000, due to which four thousand families got benefited. He said that Rs 310 million rupees had been allocated for free treatment of deserving people in government and specific private hospitals where more than 100,000 deserving people benefited, he pointed.
Nadeem Kamran said that an amount around Rs 200,000 was being provided by the department to the male and female students who got vocational training to set up their own business under Khadim-e-Punjab Self Employment Scheme.
Minister dilated that distribution of Zakat fund was s carried out in a highly transparent manner in consultation with renowned Ulema and the complete record of deserving people had been computerised. He said that department had established its own website for the purpose.