A subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has revealed that over the past two years, financial assistance worth Rs15 million from the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was disbursed to deceased beneficiaries.
The committee also noted that during 2021-22, Rs800 million under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme was issued to ineligible recipients. Additionally, 324 government officials received Rs37.783 million from the BISP.
A meeting of the PAC subcommittee, chaired by Moeen Wattoo, reviewed audit reports of the Poverty Alleviation Division for the years 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23.
The three years of audit reports highlighted financial irregularities amounting to Rs96 billion. The report pointed out that more than Rs7 billion remained idle in bank accounts and was not de-credited, nor were banks fined for failing to do so.
The audit further revealed that the accounts of 297,000 BISP beneficiaries remained inactive for up to six months, leaving over Rs7 billion idle in banks without being disbursed. Moreover, banks faced no penalties for failing to de-credit these funds.
The BISP secretary said the issue arose during the COVID-19 period. Now, if there is no activity in a beneficiary's account for nine months, the funds are returned.
The committee's convener stressed that decisions should be made considering ground realities, noting that many elderly women are unable to withdraw money.
The committee also discussed the issue of government employees benefiting from BISP assistance. The BISP secretary confirmed that, over three years, the spouses of officers from grade 19 to grade 22 also received payments.
FIA officials informed the committee that 878 FIRs have so far been registered, and 272 government employees involved have been arrested. The committee recommended criminal proceedings against officers in grades 16 to 22 and recovery of the funds from their salaries.
The PAC subcommittee also learned that BISP disbursed Rs15 million to deceased beneficiaries over the past two years. The BISP secretary disclosed that in 2021-22, 842 deceased individuals and in 2022-23, 34 deceased beneficiaries were paid, though recovery efforts are underway.
Furthermore, the audit report revealed that during 2021-22, Rs800 million under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme was disbursed to ineligible individuals.
A total of 6,709 people with a Proxy Means Test (PMT) score higher than 37 were declared eligible for assistance. While other ineligible individuals were blocked, 570 recipients still received funds that were transferred to their accounts.
The PMT score is a poverty measurement tool used in Pakistan — particularly by the BISP and Ehsaas. It assigns households a score based on indicators like income, family size, housing conditions, and assets.
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