A staggering Rs141 billion in financial irregularities has been uncovered in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) for the fiscal year 2023-24, according to an audit report.
The audit report highlights serious discrepancies, including payments made to individuals without valid CNICs, misuse of educational stipends, and unauthorised cash withdrawals from beneficiaries' accounts.
According to the report, out of 9.3 million beneficiaries, more than three million did not have a registered family CNIC. Despite this, payments totaling over Rs116.95 billion were made without proper verification. Audit officials warn that funds may have been distributed to government employees, businesspersons, or other ineligible individuals.
Meanwhile, Rs138 million was disbursed to 5.43 million students without verifying their attendance. A further Rs154 million was given to 57,833 students who failed to meet the 70 per cent attendance requirement, while unauthorised students received over Rs10 million in scholarships.
The report also reveals that Rs4 billion was inappropriately paid to individuals listed in the Active Taxpayers List. Moreover, cash grants worth Rs454.7 million were withdrawn from unrelated districts, and Rs11.5 million was unlawfully taken from beneficiaries' accounts.
Furthermore, BISP has yet to disburse Rs5.46 million in outstanding payments to some beneficiaries. An unauthorised payment of $7.72 million was made under the household survey, while Rs63.7 million was improperly allocated as deputation allowances to unauthorised employees.
An additional Rs55 million was overpaid under the Nashonuma Programme.
The audit also highlights the non-recovery of Rs40 million lost due to misappropriation and a shortfall of Rs30 million in income tax deductions. A total of Rs6 million from BISP funds was distributed to the families of government employees.
The report further exposes unauthorised student enrollments in educational stipend programmes, with Rs2.8 million already disbursed under these irregularities.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ