Ehsaas programme ‘totally impartial,’ Senate told

Sania urges opposition to give suggestions instead of criticising

ISLAMABAD:

The government’s point-person on poverty alleviation and social protection, Sania Nishtar, on Friday said the Ehsaas programme was totally “impartial and transparent”.

“One Window Ehsaas is being unscaled nationwide while 20 other Ehsaas programmes are also running – including Ehsaas Langars, Ehsaas Panagahs and Ehsaas Koye Bhooka Na Soye,” SAPM Sania said while responding to a question during Senate session.

The PM’s aide said that a comprehensive report would be issued regarding the Ehsaas programme very soon. Opposition members should give suggestions for further improving Ehsaas projects instead of criticising before the media, she added.

“The Benazir Income Support (BISP) is an institution and not related to Panagahs or Langarkhanas,” Sania said, adding that many inquiries were under way in the BISP due to alleged corruption.

She added that Ehsaas Kafaalat provided cash stipends worth Rs2,000 monthly to the “most deserving and poorest women” across the country. The PM’s aide said that ‘conditional cash transfer’ was also an important pillar of Ehsaas.

She said that the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme has been launched in the context of the economic hardship being experienced by the people due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. “The programme covered more than 15 million families with a total budget of Rs203 billion,” Sania said. APP