Payments under Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme begin

ISLAMABAD: The disbursement of cash assistance to the deserving families under Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme underway across the country.

In a tweet on Thursday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Dr. Sania Nishtar said that in the first phase, disbursements are being made to Kafalat beneficiaries.

She said special arrangements have been put in place at the disburs ement points to avoid the spread of the pandemic.

Under the programme, a sum of twelve thousand rupees each will be distributed among 12 million poor families affected by the ongoing lock-down in the wake of Coronavirus pandemic across the country during the next two and half weeks after biometric verification.

The government has allocated 144 billion rupees for Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme, which is a countrywide umbrella, and all provinces, including Federation, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, are part of this platform.

Seventeen thousand points are being established across the country to facilitate the distribution of 12,000 rupees per family under the programme.

People can contact toll-free helpline number 0800-26477 for any query in this connection.

Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, PM Imran had said that the money will be provided purely on merit to the deserving families under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme, adding that around 17,000 points have been set up across the country for the cash distribution.

He maintained that the process of awarding cash worth 144 billion rupees to 12 million deserving families will be completed within next two and half weeks.