List of affected people: Nadra being pressured to include names of undeserving people
By Bakhtawar Mian
ISLAMABAD: The National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) has issued ‘Watan cards’ to more than 20,000 flood-affected families, enabling them to get their share from relief funds, according to a senior official of the authority.
Similarly, it has issued about 50,000 Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) to the affectees who lost their cards and other belongings in the floods.
Nadra has established 14 centres in flood-hit areas for the purpose. Initially, the relief card holders will be entitled to receive Rs20,000 each and later on to any other kind of aid as announced by the government.
Deputy Chairman of Nadra Tariq Malik told Dawn that all arrangements had been made to ensure transparency and impartiality in distribution of funds to flood-affected people through Watan cards.
Establishment of more Nadra centres depended on the need and request from provincial governments and local authorities of the calamity-hit areas as they were responsible for provision of security, mobilisation of beneficiaries and identification of card distribution sites.
According to Mr Malik, some groups are trying to pressurise Nadra to include in the list of affected people the names of individuals who are not entitled to aid. “But we won’t accept any such pressure because the very software designed by Nadra does not process such applicants,” he said.
Watan cards were issued in the name of family heads, he said, adding that most of the applicants whose registration had been rejected were from Karachi, Thatta and Mianwali.
He dispelled the impression that deserving families might be left out. They would indeed get relief cards because the system automatically approves those entitled to financial assistance.
Residents of the notified calamity-hit areas were identified through a transparent computerised process, he added.
He said the Nadra was working on ‘zero error policy’ to maintain transparency in the distribution of relief cards and issuance of CNICs to the displaced people.
Mr Malik said the district coordination officers, executive district officers and local officials of devastated regions had been requested to make themselves available in relief camps for the attestation of particulars of applicants for relief cards and identity cards.
Source: Dawn
Date:9/19/2010
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