Finally taking note of the daily protests against unfair distribution of Watan cards, the chief minister, Qaim Ali Shah, had directed the CMIT to look into the complaints and allegations of irregularities and corruption in the process of issuing Watan cards in Sindh.
Flood survivors across the province have been protesting that they are either not being added to the list of beneficiaries entitled to Rs20,000 under the Watan card scheme or that they have to stand all day in long lines while police and NADRA officials issue the cards to persons who bribe them.
The CMIT, however, found these allegations baseless. What they did recommend is more NADRA centres and ATM booths at bank branches in the province so that flood survivors are able to get their due compensation more easily.
Findings of CMIT report
The team, comprising Director General (Technical) Jinsar Ali Shah, Fakhar Karim Siddiqui and Asif Marghoob Siddiqui, visited the 18 flood-affected districts of the province including Dadu, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Jamshoro, Ghotki, Karachi, Shikarpur, Larkana, Naushero Feroz, Matiari, Kashmore-Kandhkot, Kambar-Shahdadkot, Khairpur Mirs, Thatta, Badin and Tando Mohammad Khan.
At the end of their survey, the team compiled a detailed report, which will soon be submitted to the chief minister, officials reported.
According to the report, the main obstacle in the Watan card distribution is the lack of NADRA centres. While the number of beneficiaries is in the millions, there are a limited number of centres in the province.
The next problem is the number of ATM booths. As soon as the flood survivors get their Watan cards, they rush to the ATMs but there are just not enough booths. Especially in rural areas of the province, people have to travel far and wide to get to a machine. There is also a shortage of CNIC scanning counters, which are required to make the process of distribution more efficient.
The team also noted that in many towns, NADRA officials demand death certificates of husbands from widowed women. Since most people in rural areas do not maintain such a record, the officials have to relax their policy, recommended the report. They suggested that relevant municipal staff should be assigned to sit with NADRA teams and help them to verify such cases.
The report also said that flood-affected people have to stand for hours in queues under the blazing sun to get their Watan cards. It would be helpful to set up shades outside NADRA centres for the convenience of flood survivors.
Arrangements outside these centres are quite poor and the flood survivors, who have to travel quite a lot in many cases, do not even have any place to sit while they wait for their turn.
The CMIT recommended setting up proper waiting areas with sitting arrangements at the Watan card centres along with provision for drinking water.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2010.
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