{"id":102431,"date":"2026-02-27T20:03:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/?p=102431"},"modified":"2026-02-27T20:03:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:03:33","slug":"nigehban-ramazan-cash-aid-faces-criticism-over-eligibility-and-distribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/news\/nigehban-ramazan-cash-aid-faces-criticism-over-eligibility-and-distribution\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigehban Ramazan Cash Aid faces criticism over eligibility and distribution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lahore:<\/strong> The distribution of Nigehban Ramazan cash aid<\/strong> has started across Punjab and at the federal level, but concerns are being raised about who is receiving the money and who is being left out.<\/p>\n

The Punjab government has allocated Rs47 billion for 4.2 million families. Each family is receiving Rs10,000.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the federal government is distributing Rs38 billion among 12.1 million families, giving Rs13,000 per household.<\/p>\n

Officials say payments are being made through bank accounts, ATM networks, and branchless banking agents.<\/p>\n

However, complaints are emerging from different areas. Muhammad Tahir, a labourer from Lahore and father of four, said he did not receive support last year. He added that no survey team visited his home this year either.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Muhammad Ansar from South Punjab, who works as a waiter in Lahore, said he did not receive assistance despite facing medical expenses for his disabled daughter. He said the helpline informed him that payments were based on survey reports, but no timeline was given for a new survey.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, a Lahore resident, Asif, claimed he received Rs10,000 last year despite earning more than Rs100,000 per month and never applying for assistance. This has raised questions about the targeting system.<\/p>\n

According to Punjab Social Protection Authority Vice Chairperson Jahan Ara Wattoo, eligibility was decided using data from the National Socio-Economic Registry and the Benazir Income Support Programme. Families were selected based on poverty scores and verified at the district level.<\/p>\n

Authorities say the main conditions include not having a government job, not owning large property, and having valid NADRA<\/a> registration.<\/p>\n

Benazir Income Support Programme Secretary Amer Ali Ahmad said third-party validation will be carried out to improve transparency. He also stated that the assistance amount has been increased compared to last year.<\/p>\n

Economists believe that while using registry data makes the process faster, outdated information can create errors. Some deserving families may be excluded, while some ineligible individuals may receive payments.<\/p>\n

Audit expert Kaukab Zuberi suggested stronger field verification. She said land ownership, income records, and employment status should be cross-checked. She also called for updating the Punjab Socio-Economic Registry and improving the complaint system.<\/p>\n

Experts further stressed that along with cash support, price control measures and targeted subsidies are needed to ensure real relief for deserving families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lahore: The distribution of Nigehban Ramazan cash aid has started across Punjab and at the federal level, but concerns are being raised about who is receiving the money and who is being left out. The Punjab government has allocated Rs47 billion for 4.2 million families. Each family is receiving Rs10,000. At the same time, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":102432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14810,21],"tags":[10810,36688,36684,36686,36687,36685,36689],"class_list":["post-102431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lahore","category-news","tag-benazir-income-support-programme","tag-cash-assistance-scheme","tag-nigehban-ramazan-cash-aid","tag-punjab-ramazan-package","tag-punjab-social-protection-authority","tag-ramazan-relief-pakistan","tag-ramazan-subsidy-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102433,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102431\/revisions\/102433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}