Tuesday, September 7, 2010

BISP kicks off poverty census

ISLAMABAD: Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) on Sunday kicked off countrywide poverty census in order to develop more effective and transparent identification of deserving families in regard with eligibility for cash grant.

The poverty survey has been completed earlier in 38 Districts of the country as an initial phase of the census. BISP Chairperson Farzana Raja said the scope of the programme had been expanded further with the enrollment of recent devastating flood victims, which would enhance the registered families with BISP up to 7 million and more than 35 million individuals.

The BISP chairperson inaugurated the survey by completing a survey form of a poor family after a random ‘knock at door’ here in the locality of Sidu Pura. Besides others, Raja Riaz Ahmad, senior minister of the Punjab government was also present on the occasion.

Ms Raja informed the media representatives that new deserving families would be included in the programme as beneficiary as soon as poverty survey was completed in respected districts. She said that the survey teams of the BISP had already been sent to Punjab Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan to complete countrywide poverty survey. She said that survey is absolutely free of charge and if someone demands even a rupee for the completion of survey, a complaint could be made at 080026477 immediately.

Ms Raja said that it was the first ever poverty survey being conducted in Pakistan and every effort has been made to make this survey foolproof and comprehensive. She said that service to poor and underprivileged of Pakistan was dream of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had scarified her live while her struggle to complete this mission. She said the BISP was carrying forward same dream and it has set 20 percent decrease in the poverty during next 3 years. She said the programme had been attributed with the name of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto; therefore we would leave no stone unturned to make this programme a complete success.

“BISP not only provides monthly cash grants to its beneficiaries, ’’ she said and elaborated that under the Waseela-e-Haq and Waseela-e-Huner initiatives of the programme, entrepreneurship and skill development among under privileged segments of the society are being promoted to enable these segments to live self sustained lives.

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