National survey on poverty to be launched next month: Farzana

SIALKOT, Feb 15 (APP) ‑ Chairperson, Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Ms. Farzana Raja has said that “National Survey on Poverty” would be launched during next month aimed at ascertaining the exact ratio of poverty in the country. The upcoming survey on poverty is being conducted by the present governemnt for the first time in the history of the country to prepare future line of action to curtail poverty line in the country, she said.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday afternoon, she pointed out that BISP has been initiated in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP as well as in Azad Kashmir with an amount of Rs 34 billion to facilitate 35 lakh families and so far 5 lakh deserving families have received the amount in the country.

She said that each application form was being scrutinized for assessing the genuineness, the distribution of amount at the doorstep of the applicants in the country.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani were monitoring the BISP for ensuring transparency and corruption free distribution of the fund among the deserving families, she added.

It is a healthy sign that Benazir Income Support Programme was fully backed by all political parties and so far 15 lakh application forms have been provided to MNAs and Senators for the distribution among the

deserving persons while 8000 application forms have been provided to each MNA and Senator while two lakh application forms of BISP have been rejected, she disclosed.

The BISP Chairperson further stated that the sphere of this programme would be widened in next phase and it is expected that more deserving families would be benefited under the programme.

Ms. Farzana Raja disclosed that under BISP “Emergency Camps” have also been established in FATA for accommodating 45,000 shelterless families and added that such camps have also been set up in Balochistan.

The government was striving hard to accomplish Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s vision aimed at bringing women into mainstream adding that dream of national development could not be materialized without the involvement of women folk in the overall development process of the country, she added.

It was Shaheed Benazir Bhutto who struggled for the cause of women rights and their respectable status in the society, Farzana said and added that Shaheed Benazir Bhutto sacrificed her life for the sake of national cause.

The government has focused its special attention on the promotion of democracy at gross roots level and strengthening the democratic institutions to make the country a strong and real democratic state, she said.

She said that in order to accomplish the vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto the government was making adequate efforts for redressing the problems of masses on top priority basis.