Allocation: Rs60b was the proposed budget for the current fiscal year, which was later on increased to Rs70b.
With the possibility of changing Benazir Income Support Programme’s (BISP) name and its disbursement mechanism, authorities may slash funding of the flagship social safety initiative by almost 30% to Rs50 billion from the next fiscal year.
Initially, authorities were considering increasing BISP’s funding by 7% to Rs75 billion. However, now it is a possibility that BISP funds may be reduced to Rs50 billon for the next fiscal year, according to sources in the finance ministry.
For the current fiscal year, the government initially proposed a budget of Rs60 billion, which was later on increased to Rs70 billion when President Asif Ali Zardari intervened. So far, the management has disbursed Rs40 billion, said BISP’s Director General Finance Jamal Nasir Usmani.
According to finance ministry officials, the programme’s management had asked for a minimum budget of Rs70 billion for the next fiscal year.
Under BISP, a stipend worth Rs1,000 per month is distributed among the targeted lowest strata of the country, chosen through the poverty scorecard survey.
Like the previous year, finance ministry officials claimed the programme was hampered by capacity constraints and the allocation of a large budget would not serve any purpose.
However, BISP officials said the management had suspended the disbursements after March 16 in order to avoid criticisms regarding the use of social safety network for getting political advantages during the elections.
Officials of the programme said BISP has restarted to distribute stipends from last week.
Since its inception, the Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government had spent about Rs180 billion under the BISP. The programme, however, continues to struggle as it has missed its coverage targets set for the previous years.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 4th, 2013.
COMMENTS (9)
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i think bisp is better to keep busy poor people.it's a fun for rich people with poor ones.i don't think that it is a relief for needed but a trouble of pain.our polititions want to see busy in these tricks.so that they always remain far away from politics and unconcious of our blady deeds.
BISP ........ the most important social safety network of the nation therefore should be more focus on that.
It is sad to hear that the budget for BISP would be slashed this year. The government should focus more on increasing revenues from untaxed segments and cut down on the pilferages and corruption rather than impacting such programs which do offer some relief to the poor people.
It is sad to hear that the budget for BISP would be slashed this year. The government should focus more on increasing revenues from untaxed segments and cut down on the pilferages and corruption rather than impacting such programs which do offer some relief to the poor people.
BISP....It was politically motivated and used as a bribery to the workers/voters of PPP. Using one copy of CNIC ,funds amounting to hundred thousands were drawn and eaten up by the officials working in BISP. 70 billions....you can install at least one power plant of 200 MW,thus reducing the loadsheding to some extent,.
If continued,now it will be turn of PML(N) workers and voters...
BISP in an excellent program because it supports the really downtrodden. Govt must not reduce BISP rather increase the money and include more household.
Rs 3000 every three months is not a lot for us but for poor people it is like a Blessing from Almighty.
PML-N can change name if they want to.
The name of program should be Jinnah.
Let us move this 70 billion to the defense budget. The poor are used to eating grass anyway. We have better uses for this money. BB is dead PPP is defeated we go back to our old ways when there was no such program. Why were these poor sitting on their hands and not voted?