PM demands utmost transparency in Ehsaas programme's survey process

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday directed that utmost transparency be ensured in the survey process of Ehsaas programme so that no deserving citizen of Pakistan was left out from the social welfare net and also that this must be achieved in the shortest possible time.

He said that Ehsaas was the flagship social welfare program of the government and aligned to the objective of poverty alleviation, education, food sustenance and health.

The prime minister said while receiving a detailed briefing regarding the formulation of National Socio Economic Registry (NSER) under the Ehsaas program at PM Office.

The prime minister directed that the survey should ensure 100 percent coverage of the population in coordination with local governments and local administration.

The briefing was attended by Special Assistant to PM Dr. Sania Nishtar, Chairman NADRA Usman Yousaf Mobin and senior officers of BISP and Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Division.

Dr. Sania Nishtar briefed the prime minister that the initial survey conducted by BISP was in 2011 to identify deserving persons for socio-economic sustenance.

This survey had a number of shortcomings, thus a fresh survey was commissioned which would be completed by 2020 with the help of NADRA, she added.

A number of NGOs had been contracted for data collection and verification in all provinces, she said.

The collected data will be Geo-Tagged and revalidated through third party so as to remove errors.

It was informed that a Central Control Room had been established where Parliamentarians could verify coverage of their respective constituencies and help in ensuring that no area was overlooked.

It was further briefed that a “self-registration” drive would also be initiated so that no deserving person was left out from the Ehsaas programme.

This self-registration drive will then be counter-verified keeping in view the integrity and transparency of the program.

The prime minister emphasized that the survey was a national activity and the central database thus created would have utility for other organizations as well like utility stores for provision of food items to the deserving citizens and other social welfare organizations.