ISLAMABAD: A SMS Service on number 8171 has been launched by Ehsaas programme to enable the new deserving households to check their eligibility under Ehsaas Kafaalat programme.
Speaking on this occasion, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar said deserving families desiring to find out their eligibility status in the Kafaalat programme should send their CNIC numbers on SMS code 8171.
She said the 8171 SMS Service has been made free of charge for the public and the entire cost will be borne by Ehsaas.
“Ehsaas has begun the process of enrolling new beneficiaries which have been identified on the basis of the 2021 Ehsaas survey which is now 81% complete,” she further added.
Beneficiaries identified through the survey undergo “wealth profiling” through a data analytics mechanism to further clean the list of beneficiaries.
When beneficiaries send their 13-digital CNIC number on 8171, they will either get a message that they are eligible and will be asked to collect money; or they will be informed that they are ineligible, or will get a “wait” instruction.
Those in the third category will be analyzed and will get a final message about their eligibility by June this year. The process of the survey will continue till June 2021.
Since the survey is 80% complete and 20% of the population is not in the database yet, if they send an SMS to ascertain their status, they will be told to wait till they are surveyed.
Ehsaas has set up over 1600 payment camps throughout the country starting this week. Each beneficiary is being paid Rs. 12,000 covering the period January to June 2021.
The combined payment for six months is being made. The beneficiaries are collecting cash from specially set up payment camps. Payments are being made in camps so that COVID-19 SOPS can be followed there.
In addition, payments can also be collected from biometrically enabled ATMs of Habib Bank in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Islamabad, and from those of Bank Alfalah in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
