“Ehsaas tmhai insaan banata hai werna makhlooq tou Allah ke janwer bhe hain!” (The only difference between human beings and animals is that of percipience).
The quote echoed in my ears as I passed by a camp bearing the banners of “Ehsaas programme by the government of Pakistan”.
The mix expression of joy and pain on one of the faces held me back for a while and I joined the prayers of this old lady dressed in shags.
She couldn’t hold her breath yet continued praying. Astonished at this rare sight, I had to stop and find out about this arrangement where several people were gathered in disciplined queues maintaining the required physical distance but applause for the well-managed program by the government on helping the nation in overcoming the social distance.
pandemic is affecting everyone without any discrimination of rich or poor but underprivileged class is more vulnerable to it
The rare scene, pushed me to go into details of this programme. Prime Minister Imran Khan launched Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program for poor families during coronavirus pandemic which left many people out of work. Importantly, though the pandemic is affecting everyone without any discrimination of rich or poor but underprivileged class is more vulnerable to it.
The rich having easy affordability and access to the essentials are well placed to counter the pandemic, whereas poor are feared to be hit by all challenges. In the midst of such a disaster around the corner, Ehsaas indeed was an excellent and unprecedented initiative to own the underprivileged.
Under this program, eligible people got Rs. 12,000 cash grant to help them cope with the economic challenges in the wake of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
stalled economic activity affected daily wage earners and piece-rate workers, the most
A vast majority of population of an undeveloped country like Pakistan relies upon daily wages. Which literally means that in a sudden pandemic like COVID-19, daily wagers would not only go out of work but also will not have any savings to live upon. The stalled economic activity affected daily wage earners and piece-rate workers, the most. In addition, layoffs in the formal economy were pushing more people below the poverty line.
In this scenario, Ehsaas Emergency Cash initiative was designed for simple and easy rollout, using the existing at-scale digital payment capacity of the government, developed by the Poverty Alleviation Division.
Under the programme, a total of Rs 144b was allocated to be disbursed among 12m families- Rs 12,000 each. An SMS campaign was the entry point to identify the beneficiaries.
Through an aggressive communication campaign, citizens were informed that they can send an SMS at 8171 to check their eligibility status. In the event of their being eligible, they were supposed to receive a message informing them how to collect money. If they were not identified in the database, they were directed to contact their respective district administration.
In category one, special cash assistance of Rs. 1,000 per month was being given to the currently-enrolled 4.5 million Kafaalat beneficiary families, in addition to the regular cash transfer of Rs. 2,000 per month, they got a lump sum of PKR 12,000 covering 4 months.
Under Category two, 7.5 million other new beneficiaries are given a lump sum of Rs. 12,000 as well. This is one-time assistance. Two further categories of recipients are being devised.
A secure web portal is being developed to allow district administration to enter the requisite data of the individuals identified by them as deserving of special assistance.
To ensure Corona protective measures across payment operations, special disbursement arrangements have been put in place in close coordination with provincial governments and district administrations.
Social distancing measures were stringently safeguarded including opening of payment points at open public spaces (schools, colleges, gymkhanas and stadiums) with multiple cash counters along with security for these spaces, management of crowds at cash disbursement points and ensuring preventive measures like facilities of hand washing, hand sanitisation, cleaning of payment devices with alcohol swabs and disinfectant fumigation of sites etc.
Special data analytics on defined parameters (government officials, those owning cars, and those with history of multiple foreign travel) was applied by NADRA on all categories of potential beneficiaries, to address errors. Two levels of eligibility ascertainment were used to minimize inclusion and exclusion errors, according to the officials.
The program has been very impressively transparent where excellent coordination amongst participating departments was displayed. Use of available advanced technology was seldom seen before.
The officials proudly mentioned that transparency and integrity is the foremost principle of Ehsaas Emergency Cash disbursements
The officials proudly mentioned that transparency and integrity is the foremost principle of Ehsaas Emergency Cash disbursements. With great transparency, it outlined the amounts given to partnering banks for disbursements to beneficiaries.
Ehsaas programme is indeed a step towards the creation of a welfare state by reducing inequality, alleviating poverty and investing in the development of people as well as regions lagging behind, according to Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Though an amount of Rs 12,000 might not be quite sufficient, even then the poor could buy ration and food for their family. It is a step towards welfare state, a concept espoused by successive governments but never implemented by them.
At a time when in neighbouring India, masses in shape of migrant workers were struggling to reach their homes, thousands walked hundreds of miles, Pakistan was ensuring the well being of helpless households.
Yes, “Ehsaas” by the government is undoubtedly a thoughtful plug-in during such serious circumstances where population below poverty line would receive at least enough amount to fulfil their basic needs.
