Muhammad Faheem
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government launched a free flour supply scheme two days before the start of Ramadan, with the aim of providing relief to low-income families during the holy month. However, the scheme has been marred by allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
According to data compiled by the Food Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, more than one crore bags of 10 kg flour have been distributed to 50 lakh 57 thousand 8 deserving people out of 57 lahk 18 thousand 157 people registered under the Benazir Income Support Program across the province. However, the data also reveals that more than 6 lakh beneficiaries registered under the program were deprived of getting free flour, which amounts to a huge amount of Rs.19 billion.
Also Read: Free Flour Distribution: A Blessing or a Curse?
Further analysis of the data shows that in some districts, more than the registered beneficiaries have received free flour, while in others, a large number of eligible citizens have been deprived of flour.
The most deprived people are in the Torghar district, where even one percent of the entitled people could not get flour. There are 26 thousand 164 people registered in Torghar, but free flour was given to only 128 people, which is 0.49%. Similarly, 33 percent of eligible citizens in the Tank district, 30 percent in Mohmand, 26 percent in Dera Ismail Khan, and 21 percent in Upper Chitral have been deprived of flour.
On the other hand, the supply of flour to more than registered claimants in three districts of the province has also been reported. According to the data, 192% of flour has been supplied in South Upper Waziristan, i.e. 62,913 people have received free flour against 32,752 registered claimants.
In Lower Kohistan, the number of people who received free flour exceeds the number of registered persons by 27.24%. Specifically, 20,280 individuals received flour, while only 15,939 were registered. In Lower Chitral, the number of people provided with flour was slightly more than the number of registered persons, with 42,510 individuals receiving flour compared to 42,498 registered persons.
Moreover, mismanagement was reported in the first week of the free flour supply in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to data collected from the official dashboard of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, 3 people were killed in a stampede, 4 people were injured, and more than 4 thousand people were injured. Excess flour bags were also looted by citizens.
Corruption in the free flour supply scheme has also been reported, with complaints pouring in from all over the province. In many districts, only the figures for flour distribution have been reported, but many people have complained that someone else took out the flour in their name. Nine flour dealers who accepted money from citizens were also arrested in Peshawar, and their licenses were canceled.
According to the district administration of Peshawar, the flour dealers were arrested for collecting free flour from citizens in Charsada Road, Akhunabad, Faqirabad, Yaka Tut, Bhana Mari, Shah Qabool, Chamkani, and other areas.
After complaints of providing flour to undeserving people, the rationing control of Peshawar confirmed it and sent a formal letter to the Peshawar police in this regard. On April 2, a complaint was also filed by the Rationing Controller Peshawar with the Finance Station, recommending that a case be registered against the involved dealers for fraudulently issuing free flour to unregistered persons.
In conclusion, while the free flour supply scheme launched by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government seemed to be a well-intentioned initiative to provide relief to the needy, the irregularities, mismanagement, and corruption that marred its implementation have raised serious questions about the government’s ability to effectively execute such programs and ensure their transparency.
