Nigahban Ramadan Program repeats past mistakes

LAHORE:

The Nigahban Ramadan program, with a budget of Rs30 billion, has been announced by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for disbursing money to low-income families.

Under the program, the Punjab Bank will be paid Rs519 million while Pakistan Post will be paid Rs825 million as service charges. The Price Control and Accommodations Management has been entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the program. Up to 3 million families have been promised cash transfers worth Rs10,000.

One such beneficiary, Khurshid Bibi, a resident of Gulshan Colony, was over the moon when she received a pay order of Rs10,000 from the Punjab government under the Nigahban Ramadan package alongside a letter from the Chief Minister. In the letter, she was instructed to withdraw the money after depositing this pay order in her bank account and in case she does not have a bank account, she could get the money through biometrics by showing her national identity card at any nearby bank agent.

While Khurshid Bibi was lucky to receive her promised welfare, there are hundreds of families who are still unsure whether or not they will be able to get the cash transfers. This year, the Punjab government is issuing cash transfers instead of ration bags to underprivileged families across the province, who will receive the money through pay orders. Reportedly, Pakistan Post will deliver pay orders to 500,000 families daily and the entire process will be completed by the 20th of Ramadan.

Renowned forensic auditor, Kokab Jamal Zuberi opined that although disbursing money through pay orders was a better practice than distributing rations, there was also a possibility of fraud and registration of ghost individuals, as was seen in the Benazir Income Support Program. "Apart from this, it is also not clear whether the huge amount of Rs30 billion that is being distributed to deserving families is being paid from loans obtained from other countries or from the Zakat and Ushr funds,” expressed Zuberi.

Dr Aslam Qais, an economist revealed that the Punjab government had appointed the Bank of Punjab for distributing money to the deserving families, but no one knew from where the bank would arrange these funds. “The example of the past is before us. The names of the families of big bureaucrats were included in the Benazir Income Support Program, so why has the same method been adopted again. In every government, some people become rich under the guise of the poor. Therefore, the best way to provide relief to the people during Ramadan is to abolish sales tax on a few basic items including ghee, sugar, flour, and petrol. This will reduce prices and everyone will get relief,” said Dr Qais.

Similarly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Lahore’s President, Imtiaz Sheikh lambasted the Punjab government’s decision to offer cash transfers. “Last year, they distributed ration bags by putting up pictures of Nawaz Sharif and barely 15 per cent of the deserving people could get them. The same will happen again since they have not yet been able to finalize the data due to which some mismanagement is expected,” predicted Sheikh.

On the other hand, Salma Butt, Assistant to the Chief Minister of Punjab for Price Control and Accommodations Management, disclosed that last year, several shortcomings were discovered in the process of distributing rations during Ramadan. “Therefore, instead of ration bags, Rs10,000 are being given to 3 million deserving families. Families who have bank accounts can get this money after depositing the pay order in their bank accounts, while families who do not have bank accounts can receive the money from any bank agent in their area. The aim of this move is to ensure transparency,” claimed Butt.