Rs600 million loans disbursed under Insaf Rozgar Scheme so far

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Friday directed the immediate provision of additional Rs 500 million for the 1,715 pending applications which have already been approved under the Insaaf Rozgar Scheme in merged districts, directing the complete distribution of loans should be ensured by the end of March.

The chief minister was chairing a meeting on the status of Insaaf Rozgar Scheme and Sehat Insaaf Card in merged districts. Mahmood Khan was informed that 2775 individuals have been provided with the loans amounting to Rs 622.228 million to date.

According to an official handout, the meeting was attended by Minister Finance Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Minister for Health Shahram Khan Trakai, Minister for Livestock Muhibullah Khan, Advisor to CM on merged districts Ajmal Wazir, administrative secretaries of relevant departments, MD Khyber Bank, CEO Sehat Insaaf Programme for merged areas, representatives of the State Life Insurance and others.

The meeting noted that the distribution of loans has gain momentum during the past three months due to the identification of bottlenecks and immediate measure for their resolution. Rs 600 million were distributed in the last three months as compared to Rs. 22.228 million in the initial three months of the Insaaf Rozgar Scheme.

The chief minister was informed that the maximum number of loans have been provided to retailers, followed by the embroidery sector, medical stores, private transporters, livestock sector and others respectively. Furthermore, realistic quota has also been reserved for every district to eliminate discrepancies.

With regards to the status of Sehat Insaaf Card in the newly merged tribal districts, the meeting was informed that 50 percent cards have been distributed whereas people can also avail the facilities through their national identity cards.

The chief minister directed the establishment of facilitation counters at the entry points in all the districts headquarters hospitals of the merged districts on a priority the basis to educate and create awareness among local citizens on the use and benefits of Sehat Insaaf Cards.