The government has officially initiated a comprehensive process to reshuffle the beneficiary lists for all national social safety-net programs, aiming to remove ineligible individuals and ensure that support reaches the most vulnerable and deserving citizens.
State Minister for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin announced the move during a session of the Jatiya Sangsad on Sunday.
Responding to a supplementary question from opposition lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury (Chattogram-15) regarding ongoing concerns over irregularities and corruption within these programs, the State Minister emphasized the administration's commitment to transparency.
“We’re trying to identify the genuine beneficiaries in the lists,” the State Minister stated.
“We will try to provide different allowances to the eligible people. We must correct the lists, reshuffling them and rechecking beneficiaries at the end-level. We’ve already started working accordingly.”
Addressing the history of the programs, Farzana Sharmin noted that while former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia originally introduced these social safety initiatives, subsequent years saw instances of nepotism and mismanagement in the preparation of beneficiary databases.
To combat this, the government has moved to decentralize the verification process.
“We’ve taken a decision to form committees in different upazilas so that the lists can be rechecked properly and the deserving people can receive the cards and benefits,” she explained. “Our goal is to improve people’s living standards. We must remain sincere so that the right people receive the allowances.”
In response to a separate starred question from lawmaker Zainul Abdin Farroque, the State Minister reiterated that the current re-examination is an exhaustive effort to verify the status of every registered recipient, ensuring that the government’s welfare resources are allocated with integrity and social justice.
With Inputs from UNB
