MATIARI: More than 600 government employees, through their spouses, have been found receiving financial assistance under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in Matiari, Sindh, officials said on Saturday.
According to officials, the District Accounts Office identified 607 employees from various government departments, including police, revenue, irrigation, health, and WAPDA, SCARP, whose spouses were benefiting from the poverty alleviation scheme.
The issue came to light after the letter was sent to all AG offices three months ago, highlighting that family members of government employees were receiving BISP funds. The letter also specified the departments involved and called for appropriate action.
Following the directive, authorities initiated recovery proceedings. Deductions have now been made from the salaries of the identified employees.
Details of the recoveries show that Rs 729,028 was recovered from 45 employees of the SCARP department, while Rs 252,300 was deducted from 15 employees of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office.
Additionally, Rs 685,747 was recovered from 42 employees of the Irrigation Department, Rs 224,325 from 14 employees under Executive Engineers, and Rs 694,980 from 17 employees of the Education Department.
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Officials said that, in many cases, between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 was deducted per employee, resulting in total recoveries amounting to hundreds of thousands of rupees.
The action followed verification of beneficiary data through government service records and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), which revealed that a significant number of serving public employees’ households had improperly benefited from the programme intended for low-income and vulnerable families.
Authorities stated that the crackdown aims to ensure that financial assistance reaches only deserving recipients. Further investigations are underway, and more action is expected against those found violating eligibility criteria.